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Hives-can it be the strand of Kava?

Erica

Newbie
Hi. I'm new to this forum-actually new to all forums-this is my first. I'm hopeful I can get some answers since I don't know anyone who uses or knows what kava is.
I'm very new to kava. I have suffered from anxiety and depression all my life. The medications I have used in the past are either no longer working or have some pretty scary long term side effects so I'm looking for something else to help me.

What I tried first worked great - I was amazed that it had that big effect when taken daily. However, after doing more research, I found the company I purchased a high concentration of kava paste from, Kona Kava Farm, was on many lists of companies not to buy from. So I sought out other companies and decided on Kalm with Kava. They did not sell a paste (from what I've read I should not buy pastes anyway) so I bought am instant that just needed to be mixed with water and then one that needed to be brewed and filtered in cheese cloth. The strand I purchased was Poino Ono because it was said to be good for anxiety issues.

I have only used the instant for the last three days and I now have hives all over my torso and my eyes are red and itchy. Benedryl helps the itchiness and the swelling of the hives a bit. I'm afraid to drink anymore of the instant or brew any of the other. Also, I feel no effect from the instant so my symptoms from depression and anxiety are now back. I'm guessing this has something to do with the small amount (5g) of kavalactones in the instant and the paste had much more.

I'm so frustrated. I did so well on the paste from Kona Kava Farms. I really thought I found the answer to my life long illness with depression. Does anyone have any suggestions or information that might help me know where to go from here?
Thanks.
 

Intrepidus_dux

Kava O.G.
Hi. I'm new to this forum-actually new to all forums-this is my first. I'm hopeful I can get some answers since I don't know anyone who uses or knows what kava is.
I'm very new to kava. I have suffered from anxiety and depression all my life. The medications I have used in the past are either no longer working or have some pretty scary long term side effects so I'm looking for something else to help me.

What I tried first worked great - I was amazed that it had that big effect when taken daily. However, after doing more research, I found the company I purchased a high concentration of kava paste from, Kona Kava Farm, was on many lists of companies not to buy from. So I sought out other companies and decided on Kalm with Kava. They did not sell a paste (from what I've read I should not buy pastes anyway) so I bought am instant that just needed to be mixed with water and then one that needed to be brewed and filtered in cheese cloth. The strand I purchased was Poino Ono because it was said to be good for anxiety issues.

I have only used the instant for the last three days and I now have hives all over my torso and my eyes are red and itchy. Benedryl helps the itchiness and the swelling of the hives a bit. I'm afraid to drink anymore of the instant or brew any of the other. Also, I feel no effect from the instant so my symptoms from depression and anxiety are now back. I'm guessing this has something to do with the small amount (5g) of kavalactones in the instant and the paste had much more.

I'm so frustrated. I did so well on the paste from Kona Kava Farms. I really thought I found the answer to my life long illness with depression. Does anyone have any suggestions or information that might help me know where to go from here?
Thanks.
Do the paste if it makes you happy then! I doubt kava would give you hives suddenly when it hasn't before; even with a different strain/chemotype. This happened to me during my first year of drinking kava. It turned out I was allergic to my body wash. Ask a doctor what they think. I was put on a small round of steroids to get the hives to go away.
 

Erica

Newbie
Do the paste if it makes you happy then! I doubt kava would give you hives suddenly when it hasn't before; even with a different strain/chemotype. This happened to me during my first year of drinking kava. It turned out I was allergic to my body wash. Ask a doctor what they think. I was put on a small round of steroids to get the hives to go away.
Thanks so much for your reply. I could really use some advice from someone who uses kava. I would love to go back to the full spectrum paste I used, but I'm worried about the company it came from - Kona Kava Farm. This company is named on many sites as a company to stay away from and I can't find another paste that is from a trusted source. Where do you buy from? Do you know of a reputable company that sells a full spectrum paste?
 

Intrepidus_dux

Kava O.G.
Thanks so much for your reply. I could really use some advice from someone who uses kava. I would love to go back to the full spectrum paste I used, but I'm worried about the company it came from - Kona Kava Farm. This company is named on many sites as a company to stay away from and I can't find another paste that is from a trusted source. Where do you buy from? Do you know of a reputable company that sells a full spectrum paste?
Try Bula Kava House's paste. I hear it's good. I haven't tried it personally. Another option is you can send a sample of the Kona Kava Farm paste to True Kava and he will test it for you for free. http://www.truekava.com/

Just send him an email and he will be happy to help.

Edit: You can do an acetone test yourself too:
 
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