kratom tolerance Archives - Speciosa Guide

How to Take Kratom: What You Should and Shouldn’t Do

January 12, 2021 by Speciosa Guide 2 Comments

You may have purchased your very first batch and wondering how to take kratom to reap the best results. And even if you’ve been taking kratom for some time now, knowing what you should and shouldn’t do can make the results even better.

While the popularity of kratom and the amount of information available on it is growing, sadly, there’s lots of misinformation too. And it may be hard to find exactly what you’re looking for or information that you can trust.

We’re on a mission to make useful quality information on kratom easily available. Therefore, we’ve put together this guide to help you know what exactly you should and shouldn’t do when you take kratom.

How to Take Kratom: What You Should Do

1. Choose Which Kratom is Best for You

Kratom comes in four different vein colors. Three of them, red, white, and green, are natural, while the fourth one, yellow kratom, is achieved through a different type of processing.

Red vein kratom is often called “slow”. Its effects are soothing, relaxing, and analgesic. It’s excellent for pain relief, relaxation, dealing with insomnia, stress, and anxiety.
Some call white vein kratom “fast”. That’s because it’s energizing and uplifting. It’s great to increase energy and productivity as well as improve the mood.
Green vein kratom is a moderate midway between the above two. It has both stimulating and soothing effects. So, you can expect mild pain relief, increased energy, and calm focus.
Yellow kratom is also rather moderate with effects that are close to those of green and red vein.

In addition to those, you may also come across extracts, resins, and blends like Trainwreck kratom. We generally do not recommend those to new users because their dosage can vary or be imprecise and effects may be unpredictable.

Kratom possesses its qualities depending on the concentration of the alkaloids that it contains. This can vary according to the place and conditions in which kratom grows as well as the vendor.

Because of that, there may be differences between different strains of each vein. An example is Red Bali and Red Sumatra. While both are red strains, Red Sumatra is more invigorating while Red Bali is the most popular relaxing strain.

Pay attention to the qualities of each individual strain and choose what offers the effects that you’d like to feel. Keep in mind that when you get started, moderate strains can be a better fit for beginners, especially if you are looking for energizing effects.

Some vendors offer samples that you can order if you’d like to try kratom. You can start with those to see which kratom works best for you. This will prevent you from buying large amounts of kratom that you may not like.

2. Know How Much Kratom to Take

The effects of kratom can vary depending on what dose of it you take. You can use the breakdown below as a guideline:

2-4 grams is the amount that can result in stimulating effects. We advise you to start with no more than 2 grams at the beginning. 1 gram may be even better as you can always add more if you have not reached the desired effects. 4 may be too strong and you may achieve soothing and sedating effects instead. Yet, it may be suitable for more experienced kratom users.
4-6 grams is the dose to achieve pain-relieving and soothing effects. Once again, we advise beginners and those who are less experienced with kratom to go for 4 grams only, as anything above it can be sedating.
6-8 grams would result in soothing, euphoria, pain relief, and may even put you to sleep. Note though that this may be too strong for some users. In general, we advise you not to go over 8 grams.

Whatever effects you’d like to achieve, we advise you to always start with a smaller dose and gradually build up to achieve the desired effects.

Keep in mind that your body’s ability to absorb the herb will depend on its composition and body fat percentage. So, if you’re an athlete or have a very low body fat percentage, we advise you to start with half of the suggested and gradually word out what your body responds to best.

Other factors such as whether you are taking your kratom on an empty or full stomach can also influence how your body responds to a dose. You will likely feel faster and more intense effects if you take kratom on an empty stomach. This, however, can be too much for a new user. Taking your dose with a little food can result in smoother effects.

3. Measure Kratom Accurately

While it may seem easy to simply take a spoon and eye your dose, we strongly advise you to not do that. Depending on how much you put into it and how fine the powder is, the amount can greatly vary. You can take a completely different amount of kratom every time.

By measuring and taking the wrong dose you can achieve different results and may even experience kratom side effects.

But that all can be easily avoided if you measure your kratom dose accurately.

To do that, invest in a digital scale with a 0.01-gram sensitivity scale. A regular kitchen scale won’t be as sensitive. You can easily get one at a local store or online (like the one below) for less than 20$.

0.01g Digital Pocket Scale

Knowing exactly how much kratom you take will also allow you to accurately track your kratom intake. If you start experiencing kratom side effects, this can help you pinpoint exactly what is causing it.

4. Stay Hydrated

Some kratom users may experience constipation after taking kratom regularly for an extended period of time. To avoid that, make sure you drink plenty of water.

Reduce or cut out sugary and caffeinated drinks as these may further dehydrate you. Also, include plenty of fiber-rich food into your diet such as fresh fruit, vegetables, wholemeal bread, brown rice, and similar. Magnesium supplements may help too.

Don’t rely on taking laxatives as they also can seriously dehydrate you if you don’t drink enough water. If you absolutely need a laxative effect, include foods into your diet that have a laxative effect. Some examples include prunes, oat bran, flax seeds, chia seeds, kiwi, and kefir.

Coffee also has a laxative effect. Yet, you may not want to resort to it or reduce your dose if you are taking the stimulant strains of kratom.

5. Keep Your Kratom Tolerance Low

It is possible to develop kratom tolerance, especially if you take the same strain for prolonged periods of time. However, there are ways to make sure that does not happen to you.

First of all, do not take kratom every day. Take a few days a week off. Preferably if they are in a row. That will allow your body to reset and get the alkaloids out of your system.

Rotate kratom strains instead of always taking the same one. Normally, you’d want to mix greens or whites with reds. Take a different train a few times a week, but avoid taking more than two strains on a single day.

6. Start Taking Kratom on Your Days Off

From personal experience, we know that each individual body can react differently to different strains and amounts of kratom. Therefore, if you’re completely new to kratom or you are starting with a new strain you have never tried before, it’s best to do so on a day that you’re off or don’t have any important business to tend to.

If you don’t know how your body will respond to kratom or a specific vein or strain type, don’t take kratom before you drive.

The reason for that is that you likely will go through some trial and error until you discover what works best for you. And until you do, this may help you avoid any unpleasant situations.

How to Take Kratom: What You Shouldn’t Do

1. Take Substances that May Interfere with Kratom

While kratom is safe, mixing it with other substances may not be. As a matter of fact, the deaths that the FDA or CDC attributes to kratom are actually caused by other substances. Not kratom itself.

Sadly though, because of their activities against kratom, there are limited studies on it and the use of other substances with it.

Therefore, there are a few that we advise you to stay away from while you take kratom. These include drugs and alcohol.

If you take prescription medicine, ask your physician if it is safe to take it together with kratom or mitragynine, one of the kratom’s most potent alkaloids.

2. Take the Same Strain Every Day

Some users discover a strain that they really like and take it on a daily basis as they would any other supplement. However, it’s not the best approach to how to take kratom as it’s easy to develop tolerance in the same way you would develop tolerance to coffee.

Kratom tolerance manifests in the need to take a larger dose of kratom to experience the same results you had at the beginning. That will require you to use more kratom and spend more money.

Taking the same strain every day is the fastest way to developing tolerance. Though, it can be avoided by simply making small changes in how you take kratom.

As described above, taking days off and rotating strains are some ways in which you can do so.

3. Buy a Large Bulk without Trying a Sample First

Knowing how to take kratom properly is one thing, how it interacts with your body is another. As a natural substance, taking the same dose of the same kratom strain can produce slightly different effects in different people.

For example, some take green vein to gain extra energy while others feel more relaxed after it.

The only way to know how exactly your body will respond is by actually trying it.

So, instead of buying in bulk right away, try samples and smaller packages first. Don’t be afraid to experiment with a few different strains to see which one gives you the results that you want.

4. Drive

Even if you are taking the stimulating strains, it’s best to avoid driving after taking kratom. At least until you have established your dose, know how your body reacts to kratom and how long its effects last.

If you’re taking the slow strains, we advise you to not drive altogether. Kratom may relax you so much that you may become sleepy thus risking falling asleep when driving.

And even if you take the fast strains, you may become sleepy when kratom effects begin fading.

5. Take Cheap Kratom

How to take kratom isn’t the only thing that matters. It’s also the quality of the kratom you take.

While cheaper prices are often viewed s bargains, don’t treat kratom the same way. Instead of a bargain, go for quality.

The reason for that due to the FDA’s moves against kratom. Despite being legal, kratom isn’t regulated.

That means that there are no standards that vendors need to adhere to in order to be allowed to sell kratom. Eventually, it all comes down to what each vendor values and cares about.

And some vendors care about their profits more than they do about the users’ health. That results in importing low quality, fake, or contaminated kratom.

To avoid purchasing bad or fake kratom, carefully choose whom you buy it from. Read through reviews and customer testimonials. Check their website and what content they have on it. What do they care about?

Is their kratom fresh? Is it tested for contaminants? Does it seem like they know what they are talking about? Can you trust them?

If anything feels off, it may be best to move on and look for another vendor.

If you’re looking to save some money, instead of choosing cheaper kratom look for vendors that source their kratom directly from vendors. Their kratom will be cheaper, but not because of lower quality. They will not deal with a middleman who would be charging extra thus making the kratom retail price go up.

6. Take Kratom on an Empty Stomach

From personal experience, we advise you to take kratom after having some food in your stomach. At least until your body gets used to it or you know that it does not bother you. Otherwise, kratom may upset your stomach and you may not feel your best.

Taking kratom on a full stomach may also not be the best idea. Your body will take much longer to digest the food and your dose, resulting in slower and less pronounced effects. So, wait until 30 min or an hour have passed after a meal before you take kratom.

Alternatively, you can take kratom with a small snack, yogurt, or mix it into a smoothie.

Do you have any useful tips on how to take kratom? Is there something else that should be avoided? Feel free to share them in the comment section below.

Quitting Kratom: How to Do It Right

April 14, 2020 by Speciosa Guide Leave a Comment

Kratom is a highly versatile herb with numerous benefits. So, it may come as a surprise that someone may be looking into quitting kratom. It may even alarm you as some of the top results on search engines will come from drug rehab centers or similar sources claiming that kratom is a dangerous drug.

Rest assured that in most cases there is nothing to worry about. Let’s dive deeper and find out why.

How Do People Get Here?

Kratom can relieve severe pain from a wide variety of ailments, ease stress, anxiety, improve depression symptoms, and aid sleep. It can also boost energy and productivity and well as enhance the mood and focus. Some of the lesser-known kratom benefits include a better immune system and sex life, as well as the possibility of improved diabetes symptoms and better heart health.

So, why would one possibly want to quit kratom?

Well, there are a few reasons for that. Keep in mind that many of those who quit kratom do so temporarily. In fact, if you plan to take kratom long-term, it is actually recommended to quit kratom and take breaks from it regularly.

Kratom Tolerance

The most common reason for quitting kratom is tolerance buildup. Kratom intake during an extended period of time can result in tolerance. In simple terms, kratom alkaloids build up in your system, and your body gets used to them. As a result, the dose you initially took no longer yields the effects it used to.

While some sources make it sound worse than it is, tolerance isn’t something that is exclusive to kratom.

Regular intake of coffee, which is a close relative of kratom, can also lead to tolerance buildup. And, in the case of certain food sensitivities or allergies, tolerance can be built up over time with controlled exposure to the substance. For instance, if one is lactose intolerant, regularly taking small amounts of milk can build up their tolerance to lactose over time, eliminating the unpleasant food sensitivity.

Keep in mind that this is a blog about kratom, so if you suffer from food allergies or sensitivities, make sure to consult that with a doctor. In more severe cases, exposing yourself to allergens can be dangerous.

Kratom tolerance can be unpleasant as you experience that kratom is no longer working, that you keep upping your kratom dosage, or that you’re burning through kratom supplies and money.

So, quitting kratom for some time can help your body reset. As a result, you should be able to go back to your initial dosage.

Travel or Similar Reasons

Another instance of needing to resort to quitting kratom is travel. Unfortunately, kratom isn’t legal everywhere. So, if you have pending travel plans and can’t take kratom with you, quitting kratom and making any necessary adjustments prior to that can make the experience less taxing on your body and emotional wellbeing.

Quitting Kratom to Prevent Tolerance

It’s also common among experienced kratom users to quit kratom regularly to keep their tolerance in check. This allows their bodies to fully eliminate alkaloids on a regular basis. This way, they are able to maintain their regular dosage and kratom spending while experiencing the same effects.

Kratom Withdrawal Symptoms

If you are considering quitting kratom for one reason or another, you may experience kratom withdrawal, especially if you have not been careful about your dosage, such as roughly measuring kratom with a spoon rather than using a sensitive digital scale. You may have developed kratom tolerance without being aware of it.

You may also experience withdrawal symptoms if you have been consistently increasing your doses or if you already know that you have developed tolerance.

The most common kratom withdrawal symptoms are:

digestive issues
runny nose
irritability
agitation
restless limbs,
sleep issues

The severity and combination of symptoms can vary. Some people with higher tolerance may have a harder time, while others may only have a runny nose or feel slightly irritable. There are also people who do not experience withdrawal at all.

However, one thing that many in the kratom community agree on is that kratom withdrawal is nowhere near as severe as opioid withdrawal.

3 Approaches to Quitting Kratom

If you’ve decided to quit kratom, there are a few ways in which you can do it:

Quitting kratom cold turkey is the roughest and quickest of the methods. This means that you will abruptly stop kratom intake. If you have already developed tolerance, your withdrawal symptoms may be rather intense for approximately one to two weeks.
Gradually tapering off to zero will be the easiest transition; you are likely not going to experience any withdrawal symptoms at all. The essence of this method is gradually reducing your kratom doses until you no longer take any. It may take around one or two months. However, if you have stopped feeling kratom effects, this may be a challenging approach.
Tapering off slightly and quitting is a mix between the two. You would gradually reduce your dose until quitting cold turkey feels alright to you. With this approach, you are likely to experience some withdrawal symptoms, though they won’t be as severe as they could have been if you were quitting kratom cold turkey.

Objectively assess how severe your tolerance is and how willing you are to be going through an uncomfortable period.

Tips When Quitting Kratom

1. Stay Hydrated

Make sure to hydrate yourself properly. It will help your system flush out the alkaloids. Proper hydration can also make you feel better overall, reducing, for instance, headaches. If you take kratom for energy and decide to up your coffee intake instead, drink an extra cup of water for each coffee cup you take.

2. Consider Reducing or Quitting Dairy Intake

Kratom constipation is rather common. So, if you are quitting kratom and it no longer constipates you…. this means…. hello diarrhea! So, you may need to go easy on dairy, such as yogurt or milk, or quit it altogether, until you feel a bit more balanced. Dairy tends to be diuretic; so, consider using non-daily alternatives such as oat or almond milk instead.

3. Maintain a Healthy and Balanced Diet

Even though you may not feel your best, nourish your body properly to help your body recover as well as to keep your immune system strong. Eat a diet that rich in protein and complex carbs as well as has plenty of fiber and probiotics.

4. Take Supplements or Medication if Necessary

When you quit kratom or start tapering off, you’re likely to experience the issues that kratom used to relieve. Therefore, go back to reviewing why you take kratom and consider looking into medication and supplements that can serve as kratom alternatives. Stock up in advance to avoid any unpleasant situations.

In addition to that, consider sleeping aids, such as melatonin or soothing herbal products like valerian root as well as means of managing stress, anxiety, or mood. It is common to experience sleep issues and agitation when quitting kratom. So, it can be beneficial to prepare for that in advance.

5. Use Relaxation Techniques

Agitation and irritation are common when quitting kratom. So, if you feel like that can interact with your daily life, look into means of supporting you through that. Medication can provide relief, but if you’d like to try alternative methods such as meditation, yoga, or similar.

Regular exercise ensures proper blood flow that properly supplies the brain and other vital organs with oxygen and nutrients. Additionally, exercise releases endorphins, which can boost mood and emotional wellbeing.

Staying active, such as exercising, can also be beneficial.

6. Get Distracted

If you are going through a rough time adjusting to how you feel after quitting kratom, staying mentally engaged can help you take your mind off of how you are feeling. Therefore, consider working on your hobbies or projects that bring you joy.

7. Seek Support

Before quitting kratom, it can be beneficial for you to talk to your friends and loved ones and inform them about your decisions. This can help them understand what’s going on with you, provide support, and hold you accountable if things get tough.

Many people with underlying depression report feeling worse than quitting kratom. Having a support group can assist you if you experience that, as well.

8. Stay Away from Alcohol

There are many downsides to consuming alcohol. Therefore, during a time when you may already feel in pain, irritated, and agitated, it may be best to stay away from alcohol, especially if you suffer from depression.

How to Avoid Kratom Tolerance

If quitting kratom isn’t something that you would like to do, focus on keeping your tolerance low. This would involve ensuring that your dosage is right and precise each time you take kratom.

Since a lot of kratom products on the market tend to fluctuate in quality, find a trusted vendor who consistently delivers quality kratom products. This will ensure that you can get the effects you want without needing to increase your kratom dose.

Buying from cheaper vendors frequently results in you getting kratom that is weaker than the previous batch. If you increase your dose yet feel the same effects that you would with a smaller dose, you’re still taking in a much larger dose of alkaloids. Even though those may be weak, they still accumulate in your system.

In addition to that, rotate kratom strains and regularly take days off when you allow your body to reset from kratom.

Are you considering quitting kratom? Why? And how do you plan to do it? If you have quit kratom before, let us know what has worked best for you.

Kratom Withdrawal: Symptoms and Treatment

August 13, 2019 by Speciosa Guide Leave a Comment

Kratom withdrawal is something that can happen to a kratom user if they abruptly stop taking kratom. Drug recovery centers often liken kratom withdrawal symptoms to those of opioids.

Yet, you may already know that about 92% of news updates on kratom are negatively biased. Therefore you may be wondering if such a comparison is accurate. After all, kratom is not an opioid.

What Is Kratom?

Kratom is a tree indigenous to Southeast Asia. In recent years, kratom has been gaining increasing popularity due to its numerous beneficial effects.

Kratom leaves come with three different types of vein and stem colors – red, green, and white. Depending on the vein color, kratom strains offer different effects. These include pain relief, relaxation, anxiety relief, stress relief, improved energy, greater focus, and more.

Kratom effects are the result of kratom alkaloids. Though studies on kratom are still limited, we do know that there are at least 25 alkaloids in kratom. Two of the primary ones are mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine.

Kratom alkaloids work as opioid agonists. Therefore, they target opioid receptors in the brain resulting in potent analgesic effects. Yet, the alkaloids do this differently from actual opioids. Therefore, they do not cause respiratory depression or addiction associated with kratom.

As a matter of fact, an explicit 8-factor analysis on kratom concluded that kratom is no more addictive than coffee. Curiously, kratom and coffee are both in the same plant family – Rubiaceae. This is why both plants share a few qualities.

In addition to the effects mentioned above, many people use kratom for opioid withdrawal. Kratom is a safer natural alternative that helps people get over their opioid addiction and dependency.

This is where multiple sources, including highly regarded ones, start referring to kratom as a hoax or a treatment method with no health benefits. They claim that switching to kratom is not only ineffective but worse, and warn about kratom withdrawal.

What Is Kratom Withdrawal?

After abruptly stopping kratom intake, withdrawal symptoms may occur as the body eliminates kratom alkaloids.

Withdrawal is an unpleasant reaction of a human body to ceasing intake of a substance, usually an addictive one. Most frequently, we hear about withdrawal from addictive drugs, alcohol, or smoking, including prescription drugs that are supposed to help people.

Nonetheless, withdrawal can also occur after abruptly stopping coffee. Regular and heavy coffee drinkers can experience caffeine withdrawal. Symptoms include headache, fatigue, irritability, drowsiness, reduced alertness, and more.

Kratom Withdrawal Symptoms

Kratom withdrawal symptoms that users most frequently report are:

runny nose,
stomach issues,
restless limbs,
trouble sleeping,
irritability,
agitation.

This doesn’t mean that each person will necessarily experience them all though. Some may only have a runny nose and nothing else.

How Bad Is Kratom Withdrawal?

Not every kratom user experiences kratom withdrawal. Those who manage their tolerance and take kratom once a day have the least chance of experiencing it. Some never go through it at all.

Those who exceed their dose and do not make an effort to manage their tolerance, have a much greater chance of having to go through kratom withdrawal.

People who have previously had opioid withdrawal also have a higher risk of going through a kratom withdrawal too. However, opioid withdrawal symptoms are a lot more severe, which is why people with a prior history of opioid withdrawal usually do not consider kratom withdrawal symptoms as bad.

On the contrary, those with no opioid withdrawal experience may refer to their symptoms as much worse since they don’t have anything to compare them with.

It’s worth mentioning that each body may have a different reaction to kratom. Some people may be more susceptible to kratom withdrawals than others. Therefore, individual experiences may vary.

People who have taken kratom extracts rather than pure kratom powder also tend to be more prone to developing kratom buildup, upping their tolerance, and going through a kratom withdrawal.

How Long Does Kratom Withdrawal Last?

While experiences vary from person to person, most users report experiencing kratom withdrawal from a few days to up to two weeks on average if stopping abruptly. Tapering off can ease withdrawal symptoms.

How to Stop Kratom Withdrawal?

Once you start experiencing kratom withdrawal, there is no way of stopping it until your systems flushes out the alkaloids. However, you can alleviate it easier by drinking plenty of water, eating a healthy balanced diet, and exercising.

Medical, drug abuse, and recovery websites will recommend using prescription medication to overcome kratom withdrawal. Nonetheless, we advise you not to seek that option. Many use kratom to wean off of addictive prescription medication, so using prescription medication to numb withdrawal symptoms of a much safer alternative is counterproductive if not worse.

The best way of going about kratom withdrawal is preventing it from happening altogether. Below are a few suggestions for how you can go about it:

1. Stick to Your Kratom Dose

A common occurrence is when users no longer experience the desired effects and up their kratom dose. Though that’s a quick fix, it is not effective long-term.

Depending on the kratom strain, its duration can be anywhere from 4 to 8 hours on average. However, it takes the human body about 24 hours to flush out alkaloids. So, if you up your dose and add extra doses throughout the day, your body never gets the chance to fully eliminate all kratom alkaloids.

As a result, alkaloid buildup occurs and your initial dose will no longer provide the desired effects.

2. Take Pure Kratom Powder

Pure raw kratom powder is the most optimal way of taking kratom. You can opt for kratom capsules if you have a hard time getting down the powder. However, we (and plenty of experienced kratom lovers) advise you to avoid kratom extracts. There are a few reasons for that.

Kratom extracts make overdosing extremely easy. Even with kratom powder, it’s best to use a sensitive digital scale to ensure you always take the same dose. Even half a gram extra can be too much, especially if you purchase from a quality vendor who sells potent powder.

Since extracts are concentrated, it can be extremely easy to exceed your dose without realizing. This can easily lead to tolerance development.

Moreover, kratom extract doses can be hard to measure. In order to measure your dose, you need to calculate. This can not only take up more of your time, but it’s extremely easy to make mistakes, too.

3. Buy from Reputable Vendors Who Supply Consistently Potent Kratom

Kratom is an organic substance and not all of it will be exactly the same. Potency, alkaloid content, and freshness can vary, and they directly affect the effectiveness of the kratom product.

Because of that, the same dose from a different vendor will not likely deliver the same results. And even the same vendor’s consistency can vary throughout different times of the year. So, each of your orders can be completely different.

Sadly, there are bad players in the kratom industry who will sell regardless. Therefore, you may get a batch from the very same vendor that’s not nearly as potent as the last one. This can lead you to up your dose.

As a result, you may get the results you are looking for; however, the alkaloid content will be much higher cause buildup to occur much faster.

4. Take Kratom Once a Day

If that’s possible for you, limit your kratom intake to one time a day. Moreover, take it at the same time every day. This will allow enough time in between your doses for your body to eliminate the alkaloids. Thus, you’ll have a much lower chance of developing buildup and tolerance.

5. Rotate Strains

If taking once a day is not enough for you, try rotating strains. This means taking different strains throughout the day and week.

Different strains have different alkaloid content in them. Therefore, your body will have a much harder time adjusting to them.

6. Take Breaks from Kratom

This may be the hardest to do since you likely take kratom to improve your quality of life. However, this can be beneficial to keep your kratom tolerance as low as possible and reducing your risk of kratom withdrawal.

Depending on why you take kratom to begin with, you can look at kratom alternatives for the days when you don’t take kratom. If you are looking for pain or anxiety relief, you can try CBD. If more energy and focus is what you need, you can go for good old coffee.

These alternatives may not provide the same results as kratom, but it can help you get through the days without kratom and keep kratom withdrawal risk low.

Have you ever experienced kratom withdrawal? How severe was it? What symptoms did you have? What helped you get through it? Help other kratom lovers by sharing your experience in the comments below.

Kratom Dosage Tips and Warnings Every User Should Know

March 19, 2019 by Speciosa Guide 2 Comments

The correct kratom dosage for your specific needs is important so that you get the most out of your kratom use.

With most herbal supplements, you are recommended a specific amount. When you take kratom, however, things are a bit more complicated.

This is because each vein type or even individual strain may require a different amount. Moreover, each individual user’s body may also respond differently. As a result, two users may need a different kratom dose for the same strain.

Because of these reasons, kratom dosage may seem a complicated subject to many users, especially those new to kratom. Most users go through trial and error when finding their ideal kratom dosage.

Yet, with a few things in mind, you can make your kratom journey much smoother.

Basic Kratom Dosage

When you take herbal supplements, usually a smaller dose yields weaker results. On the other hand, a larger dose normally means stronger results.

It doesn’t work the same with kratom.

When taken in smaller amounts, kratom normally has stimulating effects. In larger amounts, it relieves pain.

Users can experience euphoria regardless of the dose that they take.

So, the most basic guidelines for kratom dosage are the following:

take 2-4 grams of kratom powder to achieve stimulating effects,
to relieve pain and achieve relaxing and stimulating effects, take 4-6 grams,
take 6-8 grams to relieve pain, relax, or have an easier time to go to sleep.

These kratom dosage guidelines can serve as a reference and can be a good place to start. Yet, there are several factors to consider before you measure and take your kratom dose.

These can vary from how experienced with kratom you are and how high your tolerance is to how fresh and strong the kratom that you’re taking is.

Kratom Dosage Tips

1. Always Start Small and Gradually Build Up Your Dose

Even if you are looking for pain-relieving results, we do not recommend starting off with a higher dose. You may end up taking a higher dose than what your body is ready for. This may result in you experiencing kratom side effects.

Instead, take things slowly when you first start off. Begin with a small dose such as 1-2 grams. Then, wait for 30-60 minutes and assess how you are feeling. If you have not achieved the desired effects, add another gram.

Repeat the process until you achieve the results that you want. Make sure to track how much you have added and what your ideal kratom dose is. This way you will know exactly how much you need to take next time.

3. Take Your Body’s Specific into Consideration

Not every body will respond to kratom in the same way. The dose that you will need will also depend on your height, weight, age, health, and diet.

For instance, people with lower body fat percentage such as athletes will generally require a lower dose. So, if that’s you, you may want to start with as little as 0.5 grams and gradually work up.

3. Leave Proper Intervals between Your Kratom Doses

It takes on average 24 hours for your body to flush kratom alkaloids. Because of that, we recommend that you take kratom at relatively the same time of the day.

This will ensure that your body does not create an alkaloid buildup which can result in kratom tolerance.

If you feel that you need to take kratom more frequently, you may want to look into rotating kratom strains. We discuss that below.

4. Rotate Strains

Rotating strains is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of taking the same strain every single day, you purchase a few different strains and take a different one every day.

This can help you keep your tolerance low because different strains will have slightly different alkaloid content and compositions.

Keep in mind though that the dose that you will need to take for each strain is likely to be different as well. So, we advise you to find your ideal kratom dose for each strain in the way that we described above.

Kratom Dosage Warnings

1. Watch Out for Developing Kratom Tolerance

If you are a more experienced kratom user, you may have started off with, for example, 4 grams. However, now, you need 8 to experience the same effects.

This certainly means that you have developed kratom tolerance. It’s not something that you want because that means that you will go through the same amount of powder in half of the time. As a result, you’ll need to spend twice as much as before and even more in the future if you do not lower your tolerance.

To avoid developing kratom tolerance, keep intervals between your kratom doses, rotate strains, and take days off. These will be days when you do not take any kratom at all.

If you have already developed tolerance, it’s best to take a break from kratom. Alternatively, you can also switch to a different kratom strain.

2. Don’t Treat Each Kratom Vein and Strain the Same Way

There are different kinds of kratom veins and strains. They have varying levels of alkaloid content and composition. As a result, each vein type and strain will require a different kratom dosage.

So, if you are rotating or switching strains, you will likely need a different dosage for each of them.

It may be a good idea for you to keep a log where you track exactly how much you need of each strain. This will not only ensure that you take the right dose but will also help you keep an eye on your tolerance levels.

What Happens If You Take the Wrong Dose?

You’ll find much information online of anti-kratom advocates claiming that kratom is a deadly drug. They often say that you risk your life by taking too much kratom.

In actuality, any natural substance can reach toxic levels. It’s been scientifically proven that you need an extremely high dose for kratom to become dangerous. And it’s unrealistic for a kratom user to consume such a high amount of it.

Yet, if you take a larger amount than you need you may experience side effects such as nausea and vomiting which can make your kratom experience rather unpleasant that day.

Are you a new kratom user or an experienced one? Which kratom dosage tip do you find the most useful? Are there any tips that you can add to our list?

Kratom Duration & Half-Life: How Long Does Kratom Last?

December 25, 2018 by Speciosa Guide 2 Comments

While you may have an easy time answering how long the effects of coffee last, it’s not as easy to say it when it comes to kratom. Even though both come from the same plant family.

The reason for that is the numerous kratom alkaloids and their different half-lives and effects on the body. Because of that kratom half-life and duration can drastically differ between different strains.

There are also other factors such as your age that may influence how long kratom lasts.

To understand kratom half-life and duration, let’s first look at how kratom works.

How Does Kratom Work?

There are over 40 different active components in kratom, and many yet need to be studied and even identified. However, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine are two of the most prominent kratom alkaloids that are responsible for most of the kratom’s effects.

Mitragynine is the most prominent of the alkaloids in kratom. It’s responsible for kratom’s stimulating and pain killing effects. That’s why it’s more abundant in the green vein and white vein strains. Taken in smaller doses mitragynine is stimulating, while in larger doses it’s more relaxing.

7-hydroxymitragynine is primarily sedating and analgesic. Therefore, it’s most abundant in red vein stains. It’s pain-relieving effects are stronger than those of mitragynine and even morphine.

Kratom alkaloids bind with the opioid receptors in the brain. This is one of the reasons for the arguments against kratom. Yet, kratom does not work in the same way as opioids and does not cause respiratory depression that can result in death.

What Is Kratom Half-Life?

Half-life is a term used to describe the length of time that the effects of any substance diminish by half. That is when one can feel the strongest effects of that substance.

Kratom-half life depends on the half-life of each of its alkaloids. And since their concentration varies in different types of kratom, the half-life of different strains will vary as well.

It’s been determined that the half-life of mitragynine is 3.85 +/- 1 hour. This signifies that it takes approximately 4-5 hours for the effects of mitragynine to wear off by half.

In the meantime, the half-life of 7-hydroxymitragynine is 2.5 +/- 0.7 hours. This means that the effects of 7-hydroxymitragynine diminish by half in about 2.5-3 hours. This is one of the main reasons why kratom users prefer to take 7-hydroxymitragynine-rich strains in smaller doses several times a day.

The Duration of Different Kratom Veins and Strains

It takes about 10-15 minutes on average for kratom to take effects. It may be longer for some strains or if you take kratom capsules. The effects will also kick in sooner if you take kratom on an empty stomach. After a meal, it may take up to an hour.

However, be careful about taking kratom on an empty stomach. Your body may not take it as well, especially if you are new to kratom.

The peak of the effects is generally reached 1.5 or 2.5 hours after taking kratom.

Typically, some green vein strains can last the longest (up to 8 hours). The duration of red vein strains is about 6 hours. Meanwhile, white vein strains last for the shortest period of time – around 4 hours.

But, don’t strictly rely on these numbers. Keep in mind that the effects will vary from strain to strain as well as based on the specifics of your body.

Kratom Duration: How Long Does Kratom Stay in Your System?

While kratom half-life and effects will last for approximately 4-8 hours, this does not mean that kratom will have left your system this quickly. Kratom alkaloids still remain in your body even when you no longer feel their effects.

On average it takes about 24 hours for your body to flush out most of the kratom alkaloids. Yet, according to different studies in can take up to 5 or 6 days for your body to completely eliminate.

Kratom can still show on different tests even days after taking it. For instance, blood tests can detect it for 3-4 days while urine tests – for up to 7 days.

This is why kratom tolerance can develop after regular kratom use. To avoid it, we advise taking days off, alternating kratom strains, or taking longer breaks. Doing so can help make sure that the body does not create alkaloid buildup and you do not need to up your dose to feel the same effects.

If you notice that the same dose no longer works for you, it may be a good idea to make some changes in how you take kratom.

Factors that Influence How Long Kratom Effects Last

Kratom alkaloid half-life is not the only factor that affects kratom duration and half-life. There are other factors that also can influence it.

Genetics

Not each body is made the same way. You may have enzymes and other genetic factors that may make you capable of processing kratom faster.

Age

Older people generally have a slower elimination system. That happens due to a slower kidney function and other age-related changes in the body.

Because of that, older people will need longer for alkaloids to leave their system. That happens not only with kratom but any other substance, such as herbal supplements and medication.

Body Composition

We’ve observed that people will lower body fat percentage, for instance, athletes may be more sensitive to kratom. They may need a smaller dose and may start feeling kratom effects sooner.

Another factor to consider is that mitragynine is fat-soluble. This means that it can be absorbed by your body fat and stay in your system longer. If you have less body fat, kratom cannot be stored in your fat and your body will be able to flush it sooner.

Diet

You already know that kratom effects set in sooner if you take it on an empty stomach. The type of food that you eat and how much water you drink can affect kratom half-life and duration as well.

If you take kratom with a fatty meal, the fat in your food can help absorb kratom faster. Thus you’ll experience the effects sooner as well.

Your water intake will determine how long kratom alkaloids stay in your body. The more water you drink, the sooner you’ll be able to flush out kratom through your urine.

Can You Extend Kratom Duration and Half-Life?

There are different kratom potentiators that can make kratom effects stronger and longer. Some of these include citrus fruits and turmeric. Also, make sure that you store kratom properly so that it retains its potency.

Which kratom strain are you taking? How long is it’s duration and half-life?