Very new and would love guidance.

[Kari]

Hello!
I am very new to Kava.
I am currently taking 1 T Micronized Borongoru ( Kalm with Kava) at night. I do 2 servings in a session. I have a total of 3 days under my belt. The first night I thought I may have gotten tired, but nothing really, otherwise- nadda. The third night I got so nauseous. I am not sure if that was due to the Kava or from being so tired as I was up the whole night prior.

I have had one day of Micronized Pouni Ono for day usage for uplifting mood. I take a heaping T - twice in a session and felt nothing.

I know there is such thing as reverse tolerance. I have done research

My questions are:
Do I continue with a total of 1 T twice at night and 1 heaping T twice of Pouni during the day?
I want to make sure I don't give up on Kava too fast, as I have read nothing but amazing reviews.
I currently take an antidepressant- and am meeting with a Dr. on the 30th.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Seems good to me . It'll hit in about a week or so . Make sure you have it on emptyish stomach and use some spicey food after if needed

 

[Groggy]

Hello!
I am very new to Kava.
I am currently taking 1 T Micronized Borongoru ( Kalm with Kava) at night. I do 2 servings in a session. I have a total of 3 days under my belt. The first night I thought I may have gotten tired, but nothing really, otherwise- nadda. The third night I got so nauseous. I am not sure if that was due to the Kava or from being so tired as I was up the whole night prior.

I have had one day of Micronized Pouni Ono for day usage for uplifting mood. I take a heaping T - twice in a session and felt nothing.

I know there is such thing as reverse tolerance. I have done research

My questions are:
Do I continue with a total of 1 T twice at night and 1 heaping T twice of Pouni during the day?
I want to make sure I don't give up on Kava too fast, as I have read nothing but amazing reviews.
I currently take an antidepressant- and am meeting with a Dr. on the 30th.

Welcome to KF. I think you are doing well, there may a period of time to get used to the taste but if it's making you nauseous often, try a small meal instead of a completely empty stomach. You may also want to double the dose with the same amount of water, chug it in 4-6 oz shells and don't even think about it. some find a slice of pineapple between shells a good chaser. You can also mix it with some sort of juice (apparently anything but grapefruit). V8 Splash is a popular one.

 

[Kari]

Thank you for your advice!

I currently put the powder in as little water as possible. The less I have to drink. I then chase it with more water.

Should I continue to do a total of 2 T in a session for a while?

 

[Kari]

Seems good to me . It'll hit in about a week or so . Make sure you have it on emptyish stomach and use some spicey food after if needed

I hope so! Tonight will be night 4 of the Borungoru.

 

[Groggy]

Thank you for your advice!

I currently put the powder in as little water as possible. The less I have to drink. I then chase it with more water.

Should I continue to do a total of 2 T in a session for a while?

whatever amount it takes for it to work for you, if 1 tbs is doing the trick, stick with that. I say raise the dose if you eat a little something before.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Agreed with krunky.

Is your digestion good in general ?

 

[Kari]

I have no other health issues besides some insomnia and some sadness. The first two times I took Kava I didn't get a stomach ache.
I believe I am running into the Reverse Tolerance issue. So, I am not sure if I should stick with the same dose for a while.

 

[Kari]

whatever amount it takes for it to work for you, if 1 tbs is doing the trick, stick with that. I say raise the dose if you eat a little something before.

Right now, I notice nothing from what I am taking .

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Eh
Add another tablespoon then and see what happens .
I ask about digestion because micro your stomach is doing the kneading and extracting and sometimes people who eat and say takes 2 or 3 days to poop might need a little help to kick it in like ginger or other spices

 

[recentreturn]

Hello!
I am very new to Kava.
I am currently taking 1 T Micronized Borongoru ( Kalm with Kava) at night. I do 2 servings in a session. I have a total of 3 days under my belt. The first night I thought I may have gotten tired, but nothing really, otherwise- nadda. The third night I got so nauseous. I am not sure if that was due to the Kava or from being so tired as I was up the whole night prior.

I have had one day of Micronized Pouni Ono for day usage for uplifting mood. I take a heaping T - twice in a session and felt nothing.

I know there is such thing as reverse tolerance. I have done research

My questions are:
Do I continue with a total of 1 T twice at night and 1 heaping T twice of Pouni during the day?
I want to make sure I don't give up on Kava too fast, as I have read nothing but amazing reviews.
I currently take an antidepressant- and am meeting with a Dr. on the 30th.

FYI, in my experience kava won't replace an antidepressant (though others might have had a different experience and unless you are taking the antidepressant solely to deal with anxiety; but, FOR ME [others have DEFINITELY had different experiences], kava doesn't seem to fix anxiety very effectively either; I drink it for pleasure).
Traditionally prepped medium-grind kava (or true dehydrated instant) would be less likely to give you nausea and stomach issues at your current dose; I found drinking micro to be like trying to convince myself to drink saw-dust; ew.
You can feel free to play with the dose as you like; you won't poison yourself (unless there is some weird drug interaction with something else). When I drank micro I would usually end up going toward 5 level tablespoons; but I don't mess with micro anymore.
Regarding depression, I find kava neutral or unhelpful, as it seems to put me more into contact with my emotions; if they are negative, kava definitely does not distract me from them.

 

[recentreturn]

Welcome to KF. I think you are doing well, there may a period of time to get used to the taste but if it's making you nauseous often, try a small meal instead of a completely empty stomach. You may also want to double the dose with the same amount of water, chug it in 4-6 oz shells and don't even think about it. some find a slice of pineapple between shells a good chaser. You can also mix it with some sort of juice (apparently anything but grapefruit). V8 Splash is a popular one.

Some would say to avoid citrus in general, as well.

 

[Kari]

FYI, in my experience kava won't replace an antidepressant (though others might have had a different experience and unless you are taking the antidepressant solely to deal with anxiety; but, FOR ME [others have DEFINITELY had different experiences], kava doesn't seem to fix anxiety very effectively either; I drink it for pleasure).
Traditionally prepped medium-grind kava (or true dehydrated instant) would be less likely to give you nausea and stomach issues at your current dose; I found drinking micro to be like trying to convince myself to drink saw-dust; ew.
You can feel free to play with the dose as you like; you won't poison yourself (unless there is some weird drug interaction with something else). When I drank micro I would usually end up going toward 5 level tablespoons; but I don't mess with micro anymore.
Regarding depression, I find kava neutral or unhelpful, as it seems to put me more into contact with my emotions; if they are negative, kava definitely does not distract me from them.

Do you suggest to do the traditional way of making kava? Yes... the taste is horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My main reason is sleep. I think that will help with the sadness some. Other than that- its just dealing with the trauma that caused it.
I think I am experiencing the reverse tolerance, so I am not sure I should up my dose or not.

 

[Kari]

Some would say to avoid citrus in general, as well.

Do you think going the traditional route would be better/ work better?? I am hearing mixed reviews/ info on traditional vs micronized as far as efficacy is concerned.

 

[recentreturn]

Do you think going the traditional route would be better/ work better?? I am hearing mixed reviews/ info on traditional vs micronized as far as efficacy is concerned.

I haven't had micronized in a long time; but my experience was that micronized was capable of being more potent than trad prep b/c you can always just add more powder to the same amount of water if you can stomach it. However, I have found that traditional prep can also be very potent. Its really totally up to you; both should work fine. There is nothing wrong with micronized. I avoid it only because it was too easy for me to overdo it (but now I also realize that trad prep is more palatable and perfectly capable of being made plenty strong). I only suggested trad prep because you mentioned nausea; sometimes stomach issues can be reduced by switching to trad prep. I don't think trad prep would cause you to feel effects any sooner. Trad prep is smoother than micro and puts less fiber, or whatever the material is, in your stomach; the flavor is the same, but I think the texture is considerably better.

 

[recentreturn]

Do you suggest to do the traditional way of making kava? Yes... the taste is horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My main reason is sleep. I think that will help with the sadness some. Other than that- its just dealing with the trauma that caused it.
I think I am experiencing the reverse tolerance, so I am not sure I should up my dose or not.

Upping the dose is your call. Some would suggest trying a high dose to make sure its reverse tolerance and not too low of a dose; other would suggest just sticking with low daily doses until you notice something so as not to waste money. I don't think we even really know what revers tolerance is and I don't even remember exactly how I broke thru reverse tolerance, if I ever had it. Maybe keep it the same for a week and bump it up after that? Or just try a strong dose once and see if you feel anything? There really isn't any right or wrong way to do it. The main thing is to keep consuming kava until you get an effect.

 

[Kari]

I will continue with my current dose until this Thursday. That will be a week. How much should I up it?

 

[SelfBiasResistor]

I would up the dose now. Increase slowly if you're trying it during the day. Maybe add 1 tsp per dose until you start to feel effects. When I use micro, I use 2Tbsp, 3 or 4 times over the course of a couple hours. Even after years of usage, I would not feel anything from 1Tbsp used twice. Medium grind prepared by kneading with a strainer would really give you the most control on dosage at this stage. You can make a lot and only drink part if necessary. If you want to only use micro, the 11 year waka from BKH is helpful to me for sleep. It still takes 6-8 Tbsp in all but the sleep I get is better than with other micro/instant kava.

 

[Zaphod]

Do you think going the traditional route would be better/ work better?? I am hearing mixed reviews/ info on traditional vs micronized as far as efficacy is concerned.

Micro versus Traditional (or aluball prep) is a mixed bag. Yes, in general micro can be more potent. You are essentially getting and eating 100% of the kavalactones in what you consume. On the other hand traditional prep typically tastes a lot better (less gritty) than microgrind and if strained well usually less nausea. Microgrind also has the advantage (when you are new) of being able to control and slowly up the amount you are taking in a nice controlled fashion. Traditional prep has a bit more variability in how strong your grog is.
My suggestion is to keep using the micro to get over the RT, and slowly keep upping the dosage. When I took microgrind I would take 2-3 TBS all at once and maybe another TBS an hour or two after that and would get a strong krunk from it. After that if the taste is that bad, and you are looking to continue look into traditional prep or aluball. Both are much easier than they appear at first and you won't regret it. Plenty of videos we can point you to on how to do a traditional prep. It is now just part of my daily routine.

 

[Kari]

If I currently take 1 T - twice for a session, how much should I up it and for how long? I can try the aluball after I am out of my powder.