Hi everyone - I just tried Kava for the first time today. A bit of background - I'm suffering from alcohol dependence and GAD. I'm unable to get out of bed to do basic functions, let alone get to work. As this is unsustainable, I did some research online and found out about Kava. My hope was that the anti-anxiety and euphoric feelings would help me get out of this mental hole. I ordered a sample pack from Kalm with Kava. My first "shell" this morning was 5 tablespoons of Borogu in about 12oz of water. My mouth felt numb immediately but overall it had a "heavy" feeling that I didn't particularly enjoy. Realizing I needed something more heady to give me a bit of energy, I had my second shell of 5 tablespoons of Pouni Ono in 12oz of water. This was about 20 min ago and I'm wondering how I should be feeling right now. Is this a good dosage to start with? How much energy should I have? How much desire to jump out of bed and do things? I still feel a bit of anxiety in the pit of my stomach. Should I take some more? Please advise!
First time with Kava
- Thread starter kavvedup
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fait
Position 5 Hard Support
The thing about kava grog (here I use the word "grog" to refer to the beverage made with kava root) is it's a social beverage and you typically drink several cups of it in the form of a session. These cups aren't full 8oz cups, but smaller amounts, around 5-6oz. You can have bigger cups if you want; however much you can think you can chug. You want to drink a cup, let it settle for about 15-20 minutes, then drink another cup. You make enough kava for several cups over the course of an evening, typically. Traditionally, grog is a social beverage, so you make a large batch to share with several people, and everyone is having multiple cups. In-between each cup, everyone talks, chats, or participates in some type of activity like singing, or perhaps you watch a movie or the game. You can drink kava all by your lonesome but there are somethings about kava that you experience best when you're living the moment with others.
When you drink grog over several cups in the course of an evening or the day (a session length is variable), the effects of each cup layer and refresh each other. The anxiolytic and euphoric parts of kava have quick onsets and wear thin over an hour or so, which is part of why you drink another cup to feel more euphoria. The sedative effects have a longer delay and duration. The heady components of kava have a short duration, so if you're doing one cup, you're not going to feel these for very long. At large quantities, a lot of heady kavalactones can do the opposite of what you'd want. This is where heavy kavalactones come into play as they can tone down higher concentrations of the heady stuff, which could explain your "bit of anxiety in the pit of your stomach."
With having several small cups over time rather than one big gulp in mind, your dosing may be a bit high for starters. I don't know if you've experienced reverse tolerance or not, but at those dosages, it sounds like you're feeling something at least. Try using 4-5 tablespoons of medium grind powder with a pint of warm water, knead for 10 minutes, then get slightly less than a pint of warm water and knead with the same root powder again for another 10 minutes. Then mix the two batches together and drink a cup every 15 minutes or however frequently you wish.
I hope this all helps!
When you drink grog over several cups in the course of an evening or the day (a session length is variable), the effects of each cup layer and refresh each other. The anxiolytic and euphoric parts of kava have quick onsets and wear thin over an hour or so, which is part of why you drink another cup to feel more euphoria. The sedative effects have a longer delay and duration. The heady components of kava have a short duration, so if you're doing one cup, you're not going to feel these for very long. At large quantities, a lot of heady kavalactones can do the opposite of what you'd want. This is where heavy kavalactones come into play as they can tone down higher concentrations of the heady stuff, which could explain your "bit of anxiety in the pit of your stomach."
With having several small cups over time rather than one big gulp in mind, your dosing may be a bit high for starters. I don't know if you've experienced reverse tolerance or not, but at those dosages, it sounds like you're feeling something at least. Try using 4-5 tablespoons of medium grind powder with a pint of warm water, knead for 10 minutes, then get slightly less than a pint of warm water and knead with the same root powder again for another 10 minutes. Then mix the two batches together and drink a cup every 15 minutes or however frequently you wish.
I hope this all helps!
fait
Position 5 Hard Support
If you work a typical 8-hour work day and you come home for the evening, I'd say a kava session could last 4-5 hours, however long you're awake for. I imagine you could slash some time off to make time and room for dinner. I know when I drink kava, my first few cups are spaced out 15-20 minutes, but after my third cup, I drink less frequently, maybe every half hour until I run out of grog.
Also, I can't stress this enough, kava is a diuretic. You WILL get dehydrated drinking kava. So make sure if you drink a lot of kava, you drink a lot of water. The dehydration may cause anxiety, so do keep hydrated. Some have said during the day to drink a lot of water prior to your kava session so that your stomach has room for more liquid in the evening. Kava is also appetite-suppressing, so do try to eat a snack of some sort at least if you lack the energy/motivation to make dinner. Avoid starchy foods as that can inhibit absorption of kavalactones.
Krunkie McKrunkface
Kava Connoisseur
You should understand that the instant effects of kava only concern pleasure. The systemic effects you are after take time, weeks, months, to come about. Kava doesn't work like an on/off switch except for the pleasurable aspects, and even those you usually have to build up to. The amounts you are taking are quite high, not dangerous, by any means, but it may be wasted if you are still early enough with kava that your body isn't really adapting to it yet, might be overkill. I hope it at least felt good.
You probably don't need any more right now. In fact, right now you could be fairly krunk. If you want to drink more later you should probably make it weaker, say 2 or 3 TBS per 12 oz water.
You probably don't need any more right now. In fact, right now you could be fairly krunk. If you want to drink more later you should probably make it weaker, say 2 or 3 TBS per 12 oz water.
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fait
Position 5 Hard Support
@kavvedup I agree with Krunkie here on this, if you're only just getting to know kava, your doses are a bit high. From an efficiency standpoint, see if weaker amounts of kava work on you and if you feel anything, and add dosage per session incrementally until you get desired results. This can take time. Kava is not to be rushed; it is a plant that epitomizes an introspective stroll through the park. You can't rush it and it will prevent you from rushing. It slows the mind down in a literal sense.