How Did You End Up Here?
Why are you here? There must be a good reason for you to be searching the Internet for information about quitting kratom. Maybe you or someone close to you wants to quit but is struggling with it. Perhaps you are doing some proactive research. Whatever your reasoning, I’m here to help.
I’ve spent a lot of time studying kratom and its effects on people. There were even a few months where I struggled with kratom addiction. Some will argue that kratom isn’t addicting. Others will admit it’s addicting but will compare it to something like coffee. I’m here to tell you that’s bullshit.
Kratom withdrawals are no joke. Long sleepless nights. Restless leg syndrome. Feeling depressed and sick for days, sometimes weeks. Trying to live with kratom withdrawals is terrible. The hardest part of quitting is dealing with withdrawals while knowing the whole time you can feel better by taking a little bit of kratom.
I’ve gone through this myself and learned there are three ways one can go about quitting kratom. They are:
- Cold Turkey
- Taper to Zero
- Taper then Jump
I will provide a brief overview of each method. If you want to dig deeper and learn more about any particular method, I have more expansive articles you can check out.
I created this website so people like you could use the power of information to solve your kratom problems and learn how to use kratom responsibly. You can be in control of your kratom use. The first step is doing a little bit of reading. By the time you are done with this article, you will know exactly how to go about quitting kratom.
What Are Kratom Withdrawals (And Where Do They Come From?)
Kratom withdrawals are a pain, literally. There’s a long list of kratom withdrawal symptoms, but the ones that were the hardest for me to deal with are:
- not being able to sleep (insomnia)
- Restless Leg Syndrome
- an uncomfortable feeling when sitting still
- runny eyes and nose
- feeling depressed
- feeling tired and unmotivated
You might be wondering where these withdrawal symptoms come from. Withdrawal symptoms happen when your body develops a tolerance to the chemicals in kratom. The two main chemicals in kratom are mitragynine and hydroxymitragynine. As you ingest kratom every day, your body begins to adapt to having these chemicals around.
It’s kind of like alcohol. When someone drinks alcohol every day, they develop a tolerance to alcohol. These means two things.
- They can drink more and be the same amount of drunk
- If they stop drinking, they will experience alcohol withdrawals
Kratom, or rather the chemicals in it, are the same. When you take them every day your body gets used to them. That means you need to take more kratom to get the same effects. It also means if you stop taking kratom, you will feel withdrawal symptoms. The technical term for this is dependence. Your body “depends” on having kratom in the system in order to function normally. When you remove the kratom from the system, it throws your body out of balance and causes you to experience withdrawal symptoms.
Does Having a Kratom Tolerance Mean You Have a Kratom Addiction?
Where is the line between kratom tolerance and kratom addiction? The way I think about it is simple. If you want to stop using kratom but are unable to because you can’t handle the withdrawal symptoms or cravings, then you are addicted.
I draw the line here because some folks have an iron will and are able to tell themselves no and stick with it through the pain. I am not one of those people. I need a smarter, easier approach.
You don’t need to feel ashamed if this is the case. A lot of people will never admit they have a problem because they don’t want to be labeled an addict. In our society, there is a huge negative stigma attached to being an addict. The truth is more of us are addicts than we’d like to admit.
Some of us are addicted to food or sugar. Some are addicted to coffee. The list goes on…
- cigarettes
- alcohol
- gambling
- social media
- TV shows
- video games
- exercise
You read that right. Some people are addicted to exercise. At the point someone wants to stop some behavior but is unable to do so because of cravings or withdrawals, they are an addict. Guess what… it’s okay! Just because you’re an addict now doesn’t mean you can’t not be an addict later. It’s temporary, not who you are as a person.
The first step to dealing with this problem is admitting there’s a problem. It doesn’t have to grow into this huge thing. Once you’ve identified the problem, then you can go about solving it.
The Three Ways to Quit Kratom or at Least Lower Your Dose
Like I said earlier there are three ways I know of to quit kratom. Cold Turkey, Taper to Zero, and Taper then Jump. They all have their time and place and I’ll go over that here. If you want to learn more about any of these methods follow the links to a more in-depth article.
Quitting Kratom Cold Turkey
For some, quitting kratom cold turkey might be the best option. Quitting cold turkey is when you just flat out stop using it 100% and don’t look back. If you can afford to feel like crap for a week or two then this is definitely the quickest and most efficient way to quit.
Don’t let fear dictate your attitude. If you decide this is it and you are going to quit no matter what, then you can push through the pain and get it done. Compared to a bad cold or flu, Kratom withdrawals aren’t that bad, and they go away after a week or two.
Another reason you might go with the cold turkey method is because you lack the willpower to taper down your dose. It can be difficult to take less kratom than you normally do every day for 30 days… It takes commitment and willpower.
If you are short on time and you need to stop your kratom usage ASAP, then going cold turkey is for you. Just stop! Throw your stash away! Find someone to hold you accountable. Just stop!
To explore more about quitting kratom cold turkey, check out this more in-depth article.
Taper to Zero
The Taper-to-Zero method is the only method that can allow you to quit without feeling any withdrawal symptoms. The method involves identifying exactly how much kratom you need to take to feel normal, then reducing your dose every day for a given length of time until you are at zero.
This is a logical approach when you think about it. The way you got here was by increasing your dose slowly over a long period of time. If you do the same thing in reverse, it works the same way.
One reason you might choose this approach is if you just don’t want to suffer through any withdrawal symptoms. This is how it was for me. I had a job where I always needed to be on my “A” game. I didn’t want to spend two weeks sucking at my job and feeling like crap. This made it really hard for me to quit cold turkey. I would try but wouldn’t even last a day before I would take a little kratom to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms and feel normal again.
Another reason you might choose this method is because you have a lot of time. Tapering to zero takes a month or two to complete. It’s important to reduce the amount of kratom you take slowly in order to allow your body time to adapt to less and less mitragynine and hydroxymitragynine, the chemicals in kratom.
There are some key steps and tools you’ll need in order to execute a kratom taper. I go into more detail in this article.
Something to keep in mind is you might experience very slight withdrawal symptoms when you’re lowering your dose. There are some helpful supplements you can take to make the withdrawal symptoms more bearable. If you get to the point where it’s too much, you might be tapering too fast. Slow and steady wins the race.
Taper then Jump
The Taper-then-Jump method of quitting kratom is a hybrid between the other two methods. Quitting cold turkey can be really painful due to the severity of withdrawal symptoms so going from a high dose to nothing might be too much for you. That’s why this method exists.
It’s kind of like how it sounds. You will taper your dose down to a low enough level that you can quit cold turkey and not experience too serious of withdrawal symptoms.
If you tried cold turkey and it was just too much to handle, try tapering down your dose for a while. You can try again to go cold turkey once your dose is at a more manageable level. If it doesn’t work out, you can just keep on tapering down that dose.
If you are taking a really high dose, like over 10 grams multiple times a day, you may be able to drop that down quite a bit and still feel okay. Just pay attention to your body and experiment to find what works best for you.
Who Will Hold You Accountable?
A key to quitting kratom is staying accountable. If nobody knows about your struggle or what you’re trying to do, then nobody will be there when you need a little help or a little push. It’s important to confide in someone that is willing to support you through this.
Trust me, I’ve been there. I went through this for a while on my own and I struggled with accountability. Since I was the only one that knew that I was hooked on kratom and trying to quit, there wasn’t anyone but myself to answer to when I slipped up and took more kratom than I was supposed to.
Besides getting support, the social pressure of wanting to be respected helps tremendously. If you tell someone you care about that you are quitting, then you will be a million times more motivated to stick with it.
Why Did You Take Kratom in the First Place?
These are the most important questions you can ask yourself when it comes to quitting kratom. How did you get to where you are now? Why did you feel the need to take kratom so often that you developed a tolerance? How did you get to the point that if you don’t take kratom, you feel like garbage?
Answer these questions and you will hold the key to quitting this silly little habit. Write them down so you can read them later and remind yourself of what’s going on. As humans, it’s easy to get caught up in day to day stuff and forget to remember what’s really going on in your life.
For me the answer was simple. Kratom made me a powerhouse. I started taking it when someone at work told me it would help me stop drinking coffee. I relied hard on coffee every day just to get out of bed, so I jumped at the chance to ditch the coffee. At that time I had no idea kratom was addictive… The suppliers I bought it from told me it was safe and harmless.
I took kratom every day and it would give me endurance and a positive mood. This was very helpful when working construction. I could work hard all day with a smile on my face.
This is why I took it every day, so when it came time for me to quit I needed to figure out how to find this endurance and positive attitude without the kratom or I would be doomed to eventually coming back to it.
I achieved this by eating healthier and working out on a regular basis. I discovered that if I fixed my diet and exercise routine I could feel good enough that I didn’t need the kratom anymore. This was super important for me and why I was able to kick the habit for good.
What is your reason? Why do you take kratom every day? Are there healthier options for achieving the same results? Maybe taking kratom isn’t that bad as long as you are in control of it and can limit your usage?
Diet and Exercise Will Help You a Ton
Like a lot of things, diet and exercise is probably at least partially the cure, or maybe just the reason why you aren’t 100% in the first place. Coffee can help with the lower energy but honestly exercising is the best thing for this. When you feel like taking a nap, go for a short jog or fast walk. I guarantee you will feel more awake and energetic when your blood is pumping.
I used to think things like “I’ll exercise when I feel more energetic.” But, I had it backward. I discovered later that I feel more energetic AFTER I exercise.
To give yourself a huge head start, start exercising ASAP. You might even find your withdrawal symptoms are partially relieved just by improving your diet and exercise habits.
Another thing that most people miss is water. Drink a lot of water! If you drink at least 8 pints of water each day I guarantee you will feel a lot better. You’ll sleep better, feel more energetic, and your skin will be healthier. It’s so easy and usually free. Just do it.
Conclusion
Well, what do you think? Are you feeling a little better about things? A little more optimistic about the idea of quitting kratom, or at least getting it under control?
This really doesn’t have to be a big deal, so don’t let it be. You are the boss of you and you have plenty of time to figure it out. The crap they say in AA about people who are addicts being addicts for life is total bullshit. Being an addict does not mean you will be an addict for life.
When you are able to quit or at least get it under control, you will no longer be an addict. It doesn’t have to define you so don’t let it.
I am happy that I went through kratom addiction. It taught me a lot about myself and how people work in general. It also gave me some perspective on people I know that suffer through worse addictions like alcohol and opiates.
Hey, did you know that kratom can help people get off of opiates? You can do the same kind of taper methods with opiates and switch over to kratom since kratom will take away opiate withdrawals, then taper down the kratom to nothing. This is an incredible use of kratom and the main reason why I really hope it becomes mainstream. The opiate problem we have today is terrible and costing us tons of lives and human potential.
Anyways, back to you. I wish you the best of luck. If you still need help I’ve written tons of articles about the subject of quitting kratom to help you in your journey. If you need to talk to someone you can reach me through the forum found on this site.
There is also a great place on Reddit just for folks like you, so if you want to talk to others who are going through the same thing you are, head over to https://www.reddit.com/r/quittingkratom/.
If you do go to reddit, just don’t get stuck there. It’s easy to go down the rabbit hole and turn this into a bigger deal than it needs to be.
God Speed
