Hello all: Social/Casual Kava user who is now looking to use Kava to help with constant, chronic pain in my back. Three months after back surgery, I've discovered recently that my back problems are not going away and no matter what the surgeon and pain doctor achieve, I'm likely to have pain. Two desiccating disks in my low back and degenerative changes at the facet joints at the low back levels also. Tethered sciatic nerve that two surgeries have mainly freed up, but I know its there. I have a variety of other things I do to help: yoga, acupuncture, massage, essential oils, meditation .... trying to stay healthy is an full-time job!
Soooooo, trying to reduce my pain and pain killers, I've come to Kava. A friend of mine got me a "variety pack" of Kava with white, green & red types. I've been experimenting with the different strains and have noticed which one bothers my stomach a bit more, or gives me a little headache, one may be more sedating, what works on my back pain .... but I'm wondering if there is any kind of key that explains what strains are meant for relaxation, or pain relief, or stress relief?
Recently, I mixed 1/2 tablespoon of red with 1/2 tablespoon of green. About 2.5 hours in, my stomach went horribly bad and I started shaking terribly. I put a little peppermint EO on, which resolved the nausea, but I shook for a full hour. Then everything stopped ... shaking, upset stomach, pain relief, anything good or bad I felt from the Kava just stopped.
Did I do something wrong? Are you not supposed to "cross the streams" and mix the strains? The shaking scared me but wore off easily.
Additionally, I get occasional flares of back pain that are breath taking and of course have developed an anxiety/stress reaction to those flares now. So if that happens at home, I'd like to know what Kava to turn to in order to relieve the anxiety.
Also, edibles. Worth it? I've been mixing the kava powder with (don't laugh) warm water and a little room temperature fruit juice for flavor and while its a little like Metamucil, LOL its tolerable. Thank you thank you thank you in advance for any information.
Soooooo, trying to reduce my pain and pain killers, I've come to Kava. A friend of mine got me a "variety pack" of Kava with white, green & red types. I've been experimenting with the different strains and have noticed which one bothers my stomach a bit more, or gives me a little headache, one may be more sedating, what works on my back pain .... but I'm wondering if there is any kind of key that explains what strains are meant for relaxation, or pain relief, or stress relief?
Recently, I mixed 1/2 tablespoon of red with 1/2 tablespoon of green. About 2.5 hours in, my stomach went horribly bad and I started shaking terribly. I put a little peppermint EO on, which resolved the nausea, but I shook for a full hour. Then everything stopped ... shaking, upset stomach, pain relief, anything good or bad I felt from the Kava just stopped.
Did I do something wrong? Are you not supposed to "cross the streams" and mix the strains? The shaking scared me but wore off easily.
Additionally, I get occasional flares of back pain that are breath taking and of course have developed an anxiety/stress reaction to those flares now. So if that happens at home, I'd like to know what Kava to turn to in order to relieve the anxiety.
Also, edibles. Worth it? I've been mixing the kava powder with (don't laugh) warm water and a little room temperature fruit juice for flavor and while its a little like Metamucil, LOL its tolerable. Thank you thank you thank you in advance for any information.
My favorite way of relieving pain is a steroid shot but you can't do that every 3 days so we all have to live with some pain here and there. Yoga, exercise, and everything you mentioned helps a lot. My favorite kava for pain is the PapaKea from GHK. Chris also has a new kava coming out that is very strong and it may also help. I do the PapaKea on the weekends when my yard chores aggravate all my i-ti-sis (tendornitis, arthritis, etc).
