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I has been a while! (My Journey)

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saltminerrr

Kava Curious
Hi guys!

I hope everyone is doing well here. I was a on the forums roughly a year ago trying to explore Kava and its benefits when life intervened.

To start off, it helps to know that I have depression and anxiety issues, such as hypochondria, as well as a history of addictive behaviors and alcohol abuse. At the point that I disappeared a year ago I was attempting to come off of my SSRI medication, with doctor supervision, and was at the point that it should have been out of my system. I was attempting to use Kava as a replacement for alcohol so that I was able to get the relaxing effect that I was used to without turning into a drunken asshole. During this period I had what felt like a massive heart palpitation which ended up causing me to spiral and think I was having a heart attack. We ended up making the first of many ER visits due to my anxiety. To make a long story short, the doctors have seen me a million times and say I'm healthy, but that is not what my mind likes to think. Eventually my panic attacks subsided with the re-introduction of SSRI antidepressants. The Prozac (40mg/daily) I take allows me to compartmentalize my anxiety and rationalize more, but it does not make it go away. Through this long period I decided to abstain from substances other than what my Psych prescribed, so I left Kava alone for a while. After my hiatus I spoke with my PCP, who gave me the green light to try Kava again. So, here we are! This is not very cohesive and I have a lot to add, but I will do that a little later. Currently I am relaxed on 6TSB of Kava Supreme I had left over and even after not consuming Kava for a long while it has had good effects on me.

TLDR - Had to stop Kava for a while to get panic attacks under control and recently got the "OK" from my PCP to use Kava again.

If anyone has any questions about my experience with anxiety and addiction disorders feel free to ask! I will probably try to edit this post a little later and make it a bit more fluid, but maybe not.

Just ordered some more Supreme and got myself my second Aluball, finally! I am so excited to be pursuing Kava again and sharing my experiences!
 
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Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
Hi guys!

I hope everyone is doing well here. I was a on the forums roughly a year ago trying to explore Kava and its benefits when life intervened.

To start off, it helps to know that I have depression and anxiety issues, such as hypochondria, as well as a history of addictive behaviors and alcohol abuse. At the point that I disappeared a year ago I was attempting to come off of my SSRI medication, with doctor supervision, and was at the point that it should have been out of my system. I was attempting to use Kava as a replacement for alcohol so that I was able to get the relaxing effect that I was used to without turning into a drunken asshole. During this period I had what felt like a massive heart palpitation which ended up causing me to spiral and think I was having a heart attack. We ended up making the first of many ER visits due to my anxiety. To make a long story short, the doctors have seen me a million times and say I'm healthy, but that is not what my mind likes to think. Eventually my panic attacks subsided with the re-introduction of SSRI antidepressants. The Prozac (40mg/daily) I take allows me to compartmentalize my anxiety and rationalize more, but it does not make it go away. Through this long period I decided to abstain from substances other than what my Psych prescribed, so I left Kava alone for a while. After my hiatus I spoke with my PCP, who gave me the green light to try Kava again. So, here we are! This is not very cohesive and I have a lot to add, but I will do that a little later. Currently I am krunked on 6TSB of Kava Supreme I had left over and even after not consuming Kava for a long while it has had good effects on me.

TLDR - Had to stop Kava for a while to get panic attacks under control and recently got the "OK" from my PCP to use Kava again.

If anyone has any questions about my experience with anxiety and addiction disorders feel free to ask! I will probably try to edit this post a little later and make it a bit more fluid, but maybe not.

Just ordered some more Supreme and got myself my second Aluball, finally! I am so excited to be pursuing Kava again and sharing my experiences!
Bula!
 

Go Krunk Yourself

Kava Enthusiast
Its always good when your PCP knows about Kava and can advise you on it. mine has totally flat out told me to go ahead and knew what it was. But I consider my doctor to be highly intelligent so theirs that. This was before statin and SSRI however.. not sure what he would say now, but my kidneys and liver results are fine.

I am also on daily SSRI and do kava daily as well.
 

saltminerrr

Kava Curious
What is interesting is that I have noticed my diastolic BP goes up a bit when I drink Kava. I am not sure why, but I will keep monitoring it to see. I still intend on expanding this post and going more in-depth.
 

saltminerrr

Kava Curious
Dehydration maybe?
From what I understand, dehydration should lower your BP. After monitoring it more I believe it was due to stress even when using Kava, but I have no way of proving that. If anything, the increase I experienced was minor and wasn't sustained. Besides, BP fluctuates throughout the day and is generally only a concern if it is too high for long periods of time, like months/years.
 

Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
From what I understand, dehydration should lower your BP. After monitoring it more I believe it was due to stress even when using Kava, but I have no way of proving that. If anything, the increase I experienced was minor and wasn't sustained. Besides, BP fluctuates throughout the day and is generally only a concern if it is too high for long periods of time, like months/years.
occasionally I will get a burst of higher BP and/or higher pulse while drinking kava. Doesn't always happen but when it does it goes down to my normal healthy range within an hour or two of the last shell. I don't believe kava can raise BP permanently in people, but I'm not sure about that, just never heard of it.
 
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