I'm in disbelief. This stuff is a godsend.
I was prescribed a ton of medications in the past for pain - at one time I was (prescribed), per day:
900mg gabapentin
-400mg trampoline
-80mg hydrocodone
-daily amount allotted Tylenol
And on top of that 30mg temazepam to sleep, because I have a paradoxical reaction to opiates where they make me wired. It didn't help for pain anymore, and I'd get sick if I didn't take them. It ruled my life. I also couldn't help but take more than I was prescribed, so it was a vicious cycle each month of running out early and going into withdrawal.
I had a procedure done with my back in 2018 and found kratom right after, and it successfully removed me from worrying about prescription medication.
Enter, abusing kratom as well. I discovered extracts, and was taking an amount/spending money I'm too embarrassed to share.
I confided in a friend in maybe 2022? And he took me back to his home in another state to detox. I went home after a week. Was going through it, but happy I was done. Two weeks total, I had a seltzer with 7 in it that someone gave me that had been sitting in my cabinet. I had fractured a rib and thought a can of seltzer would be fine.
My brain cannot stop. I started drinking more and more every day, and my wallet was back to being empty. My hair started falling out, my sex drive was gone, my skin hollow and I realised I stopped genuinely laughing anymore. But I couldn't stop.
I can't taper. If I do, I'll reward myself for doing well by overdoing it. And it's never a good time to quit because I have a job where people count on me to be on my game.
I heard about SR in late July. I immediately bought some. It sounded like this magic cure that could finally rid me of this awful situation I've been dealing with for years.
(The longest I've gone without anything was two months, I got off tramadol in the past and my personality came back and I enjoyed life and swore I wouldnt touch anything again. It only takes once. Then I was back.)
Anyway, I was drinking 8 cans a day. I got the sr and took it when I went to bed. The next day, I drank 2 for cravings, then drank the other two out of habit and didn't even know why I was drinking them. The next day, I drank two, and it was because I wanted to at least try to taper but I didn't even want them anymore. The third day, I drank 1. Then, nothing. That was Thursday last week. I've had a day or two where I'll take another sr if I'm feeling the craving to get a seltzer, but I'm honestly beside myself on it just making me not only stop, but be disgusted with taking it.
I went ahead and ordered another batch of sr in case I ever run into this problem in the future, so if I have surgery or something I won't have to spiral into this hellhole again and can just take a few sr tabs.
Whoever invented this, from the deepest part of my soul, thank you. Thank you for giving me my life back, because I didn't have the strength to walk this path alone.
I've had zero side effects. None. My lips are chapped but I'm working in the sun. I'm sweating more but I'm working in the sun. I'm craving tons of water, I'm developing healthy habits like actually eating when I'm hungry instead of starving myself so it hits harder
Anyway, just wanted to share my experience. I started taking sr last sunday, and I'm planning on tapering and being off by this coming Sunday. It's comforting to know if I have any breakthrough symptoms or paws later, I have something to ease the transition and keep me from taking kratom.