What is the Worst that Can Happen with Abuse or Long Term Use of Kratom?

On a kratom list the following question was asked: "So what is the worst that can happen with the abuse and long term use of Kratom?"

This post tries to answer that question. The following answers may seem obvious to many, but readers differ a lot in their knowledge about kratom:

Abuse, long term use, and dependence are all different.

Abuse is use of a drug in a harmful way. Using kratom just once but getting into an auto accident because one took a large dose and tried to drive on it IS abuse. So is using it when one has a medical condition which might make using kratom dangerous. So is frequently missing work because one is too drugged on kratom.

Long term use is not necessirily dependence or abuse. Long term use is quite different depending on whether it is long term daily use, or long term once or twice a week use. The former will quite often (but not always) result in physical dependence, tolerance and withdrawal if kratom is stopped abruptly. But the later will not.

Dependence is strong psychological (often compulsive) craving for a drug, and/or a physical need to take the drug to avoid characteristic withdrawal symptoms.

As for the worst that can happen, well several bad things can happen:

1. You CAN get hooked on it. Getting hooked on anything is not a good idea. And getting hooked on kratom, with both psychological and physical dependence is possible. According to those kratom users with past history of opioid addiction, getting hooked on kratom is not nearly as bad as getting hooked on heroin, which can destroy your finances, make it impossible to hold a job, ruin your social relationships, mess up your love life, give you AIDS from using dirty needles, or land you in jail or dead.

But if anyone gets hooked on kratom he/she can wind up paying out a LOT of money for kratom over the years. Unless one is rich, that's a problem. And so too, regardless of financial issues, is being dependent on (rather than just enjoying) kratom.

To avoid getting hooked DON'T use kratom daily. To be safe, keep your usage down to no more often than twice a week, and don't get into the pattern of doing it two days running. If you strictly limit your kratom use to twice a week or less, it will cost you much less, you won't get hooked, and when you take kratom you will enjoy it more. It's a win-win situation.

As far as I know, no one who STRICTLY followed this advice has developed compulsive psychological dependence on kratom, or had withdrawal symptoms upon quitting it.

But if anyone finds they are using kratom more and more frequently, that should be taken as a serious danger signal, a warning to quit it entirely while still are able to do so.

2. Another VERY serious problem is getting into an auto accident by driving under the influence of kratom. While low doses of kratom might, or might not, not significantly impair driving ability (people vary), high doses certainly DO impair it. Of course, those who have developed a high tolerance to kratom's effects would be less impaired by a given dose than those not tolerant to it. And some people are naturally more effected by kratom than others.

Therefore, do not assume that because someone you know drove safely on a certain dose of kratom that his dose will not impair you. NEVER drive on a dose of kratom that possibly could impair your alertness, reaction time, ability to judge distance, reflexes, coordination or attention. The same goes for other physically hazardous activities such as using power tools, climbing ladders etc.

3. Daily kratom use could cause chronic constipation and problems related to that, such as hemorrhoids, or worse, fecal impaction. Those taking kratom daily who experience serious constipation should, every day, take a safe bulk-laxative such as Metamucil (with plenty of water) to minimize constipation. Metamucil will not cause diarrhea. But remember that it must be taken with enough water or juice so it won't gel in one's esophagus and plug it up! Follow the label instructions.

4. Whether chronic heavy daily kratom use really would result in other health problems such as psychiatric problems, facial skin discoloration, seizures, or liver disease is unknown. But an old Thai study (which I don't have that much confidence in) suggests it might. So don't go overboard.

5. Those with sleep apnea might experience a worsening of their condition from kratom. Since this is certainly the case with other narcotics, it is reasonable to assume the same may occur with kratom.

Those with sleep apnea probably should not take kratom at all. But if anyone with sleep apnea does chose to take kratom, he definitely should not take it late in the day; for if someone takes kratom late in the day, there still will be significant levels of kratom alkaloids present in his system when he sleeps, and this might increase the number of apneic episodes.

Taken NOT TOO OFTEN , in reasonable doses, with attention to physical safety issues like not getting behind the wheel, kratom is for most people a very safe legal drug.

But still kratom IS a drug, and it is not absolutely safe. Taken in high doses every day for a long time, it certainly can cause addiction, although this addiction is not as destructive to physical health, or social and occupational functioning, as the addiction problems from abusing prescription narcotics, street narcotics such as heroin, excessive alcohol, or tobacco.

Perhaps someday, if kratom remains legal, there will be trustworthy studies on its effect on morbidiy and mortality. None exist. In the absence of such studies, the best one one can do is to make an educated guess what its actual long term health effects might be. On the basis of what is known about kratom, I estimate that using it is probably more risky than drinking coffee, tea, or kava, but much safer than compulsive over-eating or heavy use of alcohol, and orders of magnitude safer than cigarets.

Herbal Explorer