H1: Why People Start  Using Kratom – Why They Can’t Stop

My patients began using Kratom because it solved the real problem of pain, fatigue, or stress. My patients could not stop Kratom because it acts on the brain like an opioid, or hydrocodone, or oxycontin, or fentanyl. Kratom can create tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal

I am Dr. William Conway, MD, FACP, FASAM. I treat Kratom addiction in my addiction medicine practice in Nashville, Tennessee.

H2:   Why People Start Using Kratom in the First Place?

My patients tell me that beginning Kratom is easy. Your friends recommended Kratom. Kratom is available at the gas station.

The brain’s pleasure and pain reward pathways are at the center of human existence. Pleasure adds joy to life. Pain is a protective reflex to keep us out of harm. Freud tells us that love and work are central to human existence.

From the beginning of time, people have used substances for

  • Pleasure
  • Energy
  • Joy
  • Concentration
  • Overcome fatigue
  • To enter a different psychic world

Opioids produce pleasure. It is not surprising that people have used substances from the beginning of time to produce benefits.

The substances that produce pleasure have a dark and destructive side. Beginning with daily pleasure, it gradually decreases with the same dose of the substance. The temptation is to seek the initial pleasure by increasing the dose. As the dose is increased, the brain adapts. We call this neuroadaptation. The brain requires an increasing amount for the same benefit. We call this tolerance. With neuroadaptation, the substance becomes the master. If the dose is decreased or discontinued, the brain reacts by producing a form of suffering we call withdrawal.

It is easy to understand why people turn to Kratom. Kratom, at the beginning, produces pleasure. Kratom, later on, prevents withdrawal.

H2    Why Does Kratom Feel Helpful at First( and Why That Changes)

Working seventy hours as a plumber, electrician, or in construction is exhausting, bordering on pain.  Work in America in Nashville is competitive. Life in America often now requires more than forty hours of work per week to pay the bills. As we age, our bodies cannot do the same physical work as before with the same ease.

Why does Kratom feel helpful at first? Kratom provides relief from pain. Kratom allows you to work an extra four hours per day. Or, at least you hope that Kratom will allow you to work extra. That is the seductive call of Kratom.

H2:  Why Kratom Feels Safe?

Kratom is sold at the gas station. Kratom is found beside the snacks. You do not have to have a prescription for Kratom. There is no physician you have to pay in time or money, or both. No pharmacist gives you Kratom.  Kraton is sold without restriction. It is only logical to believe that Kratom is safe. Kratom is like tuition in the real world. Kratom is seductive, with an ever-increasing price, which you learn to your remorse that comes due later.

 

H2: How Kratom Use Turns into Dependence and Addiction over Time?

Kratom should be considered as an opioid equivalent. Kratom has the same initial benefit as a prescription or an illicit opioid. Kratom has the same effect upon the body when used consistently like an opioid. Kratom, used consistently, produces neuroadaptation. The neuroadaptation results in tolerance, cravings, and withdrawal.

 

H2:   Why is Becomes So Difficult to Stop Kratom?

As Kratom becomes your daily companion, costing you more money every day, you, at some point, realize that you are not getting the same benefit as before for much more money. You choose to spend less money on Kratom. Immediately, you begin to suffer from restlessness, insomnia, vomiting, and malaise. Instead of going to work, you stay home with the “flu”. You have learned. You cannot reduce your money spent on Kratom without being very sick. You cannot reduce your daily dose of Kratom without being very sick.  You now must spend significantly every day to avoid being sick. Your body is telling you that you are dependent upon Kratom. Kratom is difficult to stop without being sick. If you stop Kratom, you still experience fatigue for weeks to months. If you stop Kratom, you have very compelling cravings, driving you back to Kratom.

H2: Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is Kratom an Opioid?

Yes and No. Technically, Kratom is not classified as an opioid. However, Kratom in the human body behaves like an opioid, producing the same benefits and the same risks. Opioids used in medicine in surgery, intensive care, and recovery from surgery are a gift of God, removing pain. Opioids used long-term carry the risk of suffering and loss. Opioids purchased illegally carry the risk of death.

2. What is the benefit you receive from Kratom when you begin?

At the beginning, Kratom provides you with relief from pain and a sense of well-being that we call euphoria. Unfortunately, this benefit soon passes, even with increasing doses of daily Kratom

3. What is the benefit you receive from Kraton as time passes?

As time passes, while you take more and more Kraton, the benefit you receive is that the Kratom prevents you from going into withdrawal. Withdrawal is a form of suffering the body inflicts upon you when you reduce or discontinue Kratom

4. Is Kratom Expensive?

The direct cost of Kratom is what you spend to purchase Kratom. Kratom begins to add up. As you take more and more, the dollars spent on Kratom become large. I have patients who are spending $1000 per month on Kratom. That is Kraton’s direct cost. The indirect costs are the time cost of purchasing and the lost work from illness.

5. Can Kratom produce addiction?

Yes, Kratom can cause addiction. Addiction is a chronic disease, which means Kratom can produce a lifelong disease. Like diabetes, your Kratom addiction will be with you forever.  Like diabetes, your Kratom addiction will require that you accept treatment, or live with cravings, or sustain losses.

Conclusion

My work is to walk with you through those decisions — quietly, steadily, and without judgment. I am  Dr. William Conway, MD, FACP, FASAM, in Nashville. I treat Kratom addiction with buprenorphine.  

📞Call 615-708-0390 to begin Kratom Addiction Treatment in Nashville