kratom for addiction treatment

Controversy Surrounding Kratom for Addiction Treatment

This entry was posted on .

Drug addiction can affect anyone at any time and cause their life to fall apart before the warning signs make themselves known. If you or someone you know is fighting an opioid addiction, you might be curious about the benefits of using kratom for addiction treatment.

Before you take action, learn about the pros and cons of each path so that you won’t encounter surprises along the way. Kratom offers a few benefits that may make your recovery a little easier, but there may be a bigger cost than it’s worth. No matter what path you choose, reviewing your options empowers you to move forward with peace of mind.

Continued after video…

Understanding Kratom

Understanding what kratom is and the way it impacts the brain is most important in making a decision. As an opioid agonist, kratom triggers the brain’s reward system to enhance your mood and cause a sense of relaxation. Kratom can make you feel at ease with yourself and your situation. Even though kratom is not as strong as heroin or other opioids, supporters of kratom say that taking it in the right dose may help you reduce and combat the withdrawal symptoms as you discontinue opioid use. Making tea with kratom is one way to use it, but many people opt to take it as a pill for convenience.

Using Kratom to Treat Addiction

For many people trying to defeat addiction and reclaim their lives, making it through the withdrawal phase is the most difficult part of the process. Mood swings, an upset stomach, insomnia and aggression are just a few of the symptoms a recovering addict might experience when trying to quit.

The withdrawal symptoms can get progressively intense and last for 10 days. The desire to use again combines with the desire to end the harsh withdrawal symptoms to compel people to use the drug again. Those who face that cycle and don’t know how to escape from it use kratom to reach their desired outcome. Kratom won’t stop the symptoms of opioid withdrawal, but supports claim it can reduce them and make the process a little more comfortable. 

Lack of Conclusive Evidence

Although people claim kratom has helped them combat addiction, no conclusive evidence exists to support those claims. Instead, the FDA has stepped in and said that kratom is dangerous. They liken it to opioids and say that there have been dozens of deaths from kratom use. There is also concern since kratom is marketed as a supplement, which has no regulation. Because of this, when someone purchases kratom, there is no guarantee that what they are receiving is actually kratom, and if the amount is safe or not. So even if kratom is safe at a small dose, you won’t know what you actually received because it isn’t regulated.

Possible Side Effects of Kratom

Reviewing the side effects some people have faced after they used kratom is another way to decide if this path is right for you. After you look at the downsides of kratom, you might decide that it’s not the solution for which you have been searching. In the short term, you could notice nausea, dizziness and lack of coordination. The long-term side effects of kratom include psychosis and weight loss.

Is Kratom Addictive?

People who use kratom to combat drug addiction can run into other problems they had not anticipated. Once you use it to turn your addiction into a thing of the past, you might get addicted to kratom. Those who use it in small doses are not worried about the threat, but addiction can happen to you when you least expect it. You will then have another issue you will need to contain if you wish to handle the problem the right way. 

Kratom Can Stop Users From Getting Professional Treatment

The No. 1 problem with kratom is that it does not always work, and using it prevents you from getting treatment from the right place and dealing with the issues that led to addiction. In addition to that, opioid withdrawal is a serious concern. Medically supervised detox during opioid withdrawal is recommended so that any side effects or medical issues are treated promptly and correctly. If a person decides to use kratom to help with withdrawal, they may experience seizures or other medical issues that will be left untreated.

Each day you let your addiction remain unaddressed makes it a little more difficult for you to contain it. You might think you are making progress, but one mistake is all that it takes for you to fall back to old habits.

Getting Real Help

If you don’t want to take unneeded risks when it comes to your health, seek treatment from a place that is licensed and accredited. Ocean Hills Recovery specializes in helping people defeat addiction with healthy strategies that provide long-term success. When you come to us for support, we will learn about your needs and use an approach that gives you the best possible odds of making a complete recovery. Opioids don’t have to control your life any longer, and a quick phone call is the essential first step that could save your life.

About the author: