Long time lurker...finally jumped in

[Ecto]

Hello all! Long time lurker here. Decided to finally dive into the world of kava and join this wonderful community.


A little bit of my history and why I'm turning to Kava. When I was younger I was always an anxious person. Then during my late teenage years I began to experience panic attacks which turned into panic disorder and then into full blown agoraphobia. After trying and failing many different SSRI drugs I found Xanax.....which has been a miracle for me. Unfortunatly by this time I had turned to the bottle for anxiety relief and had developed a pretty bad drinking problem. 12-15 beers a night.....wake up with a nasty hangover....pop 0.5mg of Xanax and start another day. This has been life for me for a few years now but I'm ready to change.


I bought 1 kilo of Boroguru from Bula Kava House and made my first batch last night. I used 3 heaping tablespoons in 12oz water using a t-shirt as a strainer (poor planning). I don't mind the taste of kava at all...to me it just tastes a little earthy. I chugged the kava and relaxed on the couch for an hour or so. I felt very content. Not overpowering....but just ok with the world. An hour or so later it seemed to be wearing off so I decided to "toss and wash" 3 more tablespoons. This was probably a bad idea as my stomach didn't seem to take too kindly to this (frequent bathroom breaks). My feelings of contentment disappeared and I began to feel overemotional and depressed. On the positive side it was my first night without drinking alcohol in years.


Anyhow, I hope to work through the reverse tolerance and enjoy kava as much as you wonderful folks do. Also, I would like to thank all of you for the positive and non-judgemental attitude on this forum....without it I wouldn't have placed my first order and probably would have kept on my destructive path.


Shells up!

 

[The Kap'n]

Hi! Welcome to the forum. We have fun here, but seriously the same issues you've been facing are some of the exact reasons we are here ourselves. Kava is therapeutic for me beyond what I ever thought it could be. Enjoy it and please don't hesitate to ask us any questions you may think of.

 

[Vekta]

Yes, welcome Ecto. My father also experience the overemotional state you mentioned. He is (still) also a drinker. Once you get the alcohol out of your system entirely I think that will subside. Alcohol is a depressant.

 

[kl.btbam13]

Welcome! Kava is a great substitute for alcohol..I myself started drinking it for the same reason. Bula sells some great stuff, and every kava root has it's own unique effects. Shop around a little and find which one suits you best!

 

[kl.Lente]

My lifestyle three years or so ago sounds pretty much exactly like yours.


I didn't start on Kava to break alcohol addiction. But Kava broke my alcohol addiction anyway.


It's like ibogaine for wet brains.


Although I am still hooked on the Benzos. My head doctor gives them away like they are tic-tacs, and I am a weak person.


Anyway, hang in there. The first couple of weeks without booze are going to be depressing and weird. The world will kind of start crowding in on you and looking scary again. But Kava will be there to help you accept the wonders that compliment the terrors, just like booze did when you first started drinking it.


Welcome.


Lente.

 

[uuku pi]

I have had a few of the emotional things. I believe they come from the super clear head from Kava. Like 'how could I have done all this dumb stuff?'

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

I'm gonna jump in with some safety to consider. Although there's been some talk of Kava possibly being capable of weening people off drinking who are physically addicted alcohol (which i agree with to some degree). It's not a fully studied/proven science yet. It makes sense though...because it's another GABAergic drug, and doctors typically treat alcoholics with a weening dose of benzodiazepines (like valium etc..which are also gabaeric)

10-15 drinks every night or so definitely means your body is "physically" addicted...and at that point it's dangerous to suddenly stop. Alcohol(and benzo)withdrawal is a lot more serious than most people know, and that swing of emotion and depression you felt is a common symptom of withdrawal. Symptoms usually become worst around the 3rd day but could be sooner or later than that...seizures, delirium and stroke are real concerns at that point.

So, basically what I'm tryin to say is that you should probably taper yourself off of alcohol with alcohol (it can be done) or ask your doc to give you a tapering dose of Valium to get you off of alcohol....and then start drinking Kava.


I'm late to reply, so this might all be a bit pointless now. But, you've made a good choice by trying Kava. Stick with it for a while and see if it can give you what you need.


(sorry if this sounded too ranty, ive just got some knowledge in this department)


\000/

 

[Ecto]

Thanks for all the replies everybody.


Thank you as well shakas for your concern. I do still take Xanax 0.25mg twice a day for panic attacks so that should help with the withdrawals. You were correct about symptoms being the worst on the 3rd day. I don't have a history of depression but WOW was I depressed/fatigued/emotionally spent around day 3.


One thing I'm curious about though is that if Kava is a gabaeric will I experience a cross tolerance between that and my benzo RX? If it makes my meds less effective it may not be the right thing for me. I've been taking the same amount of Xanax every day for around 7 years now and have never needed to adjust my dosage (I have a healthy fear of benzo tolerance/addiction).