3 strikes, I'm out (and sad)

[Dan More]

I have come to the sad conclusion that I can't tolerate Kava. I've gotten the dreaded puffy face, itchy rash 3 times now. The first time was pretty severe but I thought it might be due to my mixing in a couple beers that day. The second time was terrible! I had a fever, raised blotches on my upper torso, puffy red face and incredibly itchy. This happened with a new to me variety of Kava so I had to cautiously try one more time to be sure. Yesterday a did a weak alu-ball wash of 1 tsp. (5 gms) of a kava I tolerated well at the beginning. A few hours later I had a red puffy face and itchy scalp. Luckily a couple Benadryl knocked it out overnight. Anyway, I have to be done with kava. I've listed my stash and accessories over at the marketplace on this site for a what I think is a good deal. Check it out. Wish I could hang with you guys but it's not in the cards.

 

[HeadHodge]

 

[Kojo Douglas]

Sorry to hear this, always sorry to hear this.

 

[Jerome]

Wow. That is strange. My wife gets slightly swollen lips when she drinks it but it must be a rare allergy...

 

[Deleted User01]

Yeah, there are all kinds of food allergies and you are definitely allergic to kava. Sorry to hear it.

 

[Kava_Joe]

Bummer Dan. So Sorry........

 

[sentiententity]

Strange! My condolences, dude.

 

[Jerome]

Any chance you're chasing your kava with raw oysters?

 

[kavayo]

I firmly believe this is due to alcohol mixing with kava. If I drink alcohol within 72 hours of kava or before I get this reaction. When I started drinking alcohol again after a few months break the same reactions you're describing began to occur. If I cease alcohol for a few weeks, this goes away. I have been taking Milk Thistle daily for the last two weeks and tomorrow will be my last alcoholic beverage for a while before I open the bar. I will try kava again in two weeks and let you know if I can tolerate it. I also have a friend who drinks booze a few nights a week and gets the same reaction. I can't say for sure for you, but for me, it is 100% related to the frequency of alcohol consumption.

 

[Dan More]

Interesting. I had not had any alcohol for the previous 3 days when I had the last reaction. Also, there was a previous discussion from a poster who had a similar reaction but he had been completely abstaining from booze for months. I'm not discounting your theory though because I've been a fairly heavy drinker for many years. That was part of the appeal of Kava, to try and get some stress release without the poison of binge drinking. I'm currently doing a dry January so maybe I'll try a tiny amount of kava again after the month is over. Let me know how your experiment goes and I'll do the same.

 

[Vladimir Lemon]

I think some people may just be allergenic to kava unfortunately. My roommate tried some of my kava one day and he experienced what would best be described as a moderate allergic reaction. He had a small amount of trouble breathing and his mouth hurt a bit. He doesn't drink alcohol, so that can be ruled out.

 

[ImDirtyDan]

I know about the fever experience. I had a decent amount left but no time to prepare it, so I packed a ton of gel caps with the stuff and tossed them back. Not sure if it's purely coincidental, but that night I felt immeasurable nausea and for the next couple weeks I had a fever that was followed by killer bronchitis.

 

[ThePiper]

I know about the fever experience. I had a decent amount left but no time to prepare it, so I packed a ton of gel caps with the stuff and tossed them back. Not sure if it's purely coincidental, but that night I felt immeasurable nausea and for the next couple weeks I had a fever that was followed by killer bronchitis.

I think it's safe to say that your couple weeks of bronchitis was a coincidence or even the cause of the fever itself..? At least based on the small amount of info given

 

[Spellwriter]

I had/have this problem, and it's definitely not alcohol related for me as I don't drink at all.

I made a post about this a few weeks ago. I have been able to drink kava provided I take certain precautions. For what it's worth, brand/type has a huge effect on reaction for me. Feel free to PM me if you have questions!