Why doesn't kava EVER give me negative side effects?

[StinkWeed]

I see so much on here about people having such terrible dermopathy, itchiness, nausea, even remaining ill a day or two after consuming certain Kava's, or consuming too regularly, but I myself have never had such severe effects, no matter my method of consumption. I have somewhat of an iron stomach when it comes to gagging things down, but I have TERRIBLE stomach issues, yet kava has never done anything worse than perhaps make me gassy, even toss and washing coarse grinds, and in fact seems to eliminate a good deal of my usual dry heaving and vomiting I experience most mornings. I also have irregularly thick and dry skin, but have never seen a bit of scaliness, except for what's kind of already there, like elbows and such.
I guess this is a bit of a ramble of a post, but I'm curious, what makes one sensitive to the gastric and dermal problems that can be related to drinking kava?

 

[Sean D.]

| I see so much on here about people having such terrible dermopathy, itchiness, nausea, even remaining ill a day or two after consuming certain Kava

Hmmm... I haven't really noticed that. I know some folks are badly allergic or don't react well to tudei. I try to stick to noble for regular use myself. There are other foods that have caused me to have bloating, so I stick to straining -- I have not experimented with micro much yet-- and have not had any tummy issues from strained Kava. I have noticed some minor itchiness right before bed, but overall I have a much more pleasant experience with Kava than I ever did with alcohol or other relaxants. As for having too much (dehydrating), at about cup 3 there's a bit of a "I"ve had enough, gag factor" so kind of hard to have too much in my case anyway.

 

[Pink]

Id depends really,since im only on my second week of kava,i have no previous history of any symptoms you described,but know people that have already dry skin,scalling because they are alergic to certain foods,or have have this conditions since birth.

As for itching it really itches after i consume kava,but to compare i used phenibut and when it wears of its itching like coming of H or whatever you see on documentaries :]
Also i have really sensitive stomach and any chilli or spicy foods are sure to cause me almost feelings that my stoumach is bleeding,but interesting enough when i drink kava theres no such symptoms at all,even more its supposedly from peppers family but preparation makes its Ph as water or milk,id still feel full and a bit of gas,but nothing that would make me gag or have chilly peppers experience.Al-tough depending on amount used i was close to feeling sick,dont know did i make batch stronger,but as time went in hour or so that feeling was replaced by calm euphoria,and just wanted to sleep so go figure

 

[StinkWeed]

So with you, it's self-regulating, sort-of? I'd say that's a nice positive, but have you ever pushed past that "gag-factor"? I'm curious if this is common, maybe I am exaggerating the number of bad things I've read because of how strongly the afflicted felt on the subject... Idk, seems like lots of people all over the internet have had one issue or another, maybe its a reaction to the " heavier" actives in certain Kava's like you suggested, I did stay off this forum for a minute, when I came back there seemed to be a huge tuday concern. At least moreso than before I was absent for a bit.

 

[StinkWeed]

Id depends really,since im only on my second week of kava,i have no previous history of any symptoms you described,but know people that have already dry skin,scalling because they are alergic to certain foods,or have have this conditions since birth.

As for itching it really itches after i consume kava,but to compare i used phenibut and when it wears of its itching like coming of H or whatever you see on documentaries :]
Also i have really sensitive stomach and any chilli or spicy foods are sure to cause me almost feelings that my stoumach is bleeding,but interesting enough when i drink kava theres no such symptoms at all,even more its supposedly from peppers family but preparation makes its Ph as water or milk,id still feel full and a bit of gas,but nothing that would make me gag or have chilly peppers experience.Al-tough depending on amount used i was close to feeling sick,dont know did i make batch stronger,but as time went in hour or so that feeling was replaced by calm euphoria,and just wanted to sleep so go figure

So kava seems to help your stomach a bit too? How interesting. I wonder if that will change as you continue your kava journey or (like me) it'll always have some soothing effect on your GI upsets

 

[StinkWeed]

Perhaps it's because you already have them! You are saying that kava "seems to eliminate a good deal of my usual dry heaving and vomiting I experience most mornings"???

You are adding kava to a pre-existing set of symptoms that is far from normal, so I expect your reaction to kava would also be much different.

Well, that actually makes a LOT of sense. You don't think that it would exacerbate issues like mine or others though? I can see what you mean, but you'd think 1+1 would be 2 so to speak, rather than kava plus my existing issues causing me to tolerate these issues more easily.

 

[Sean D.]

| So with you, it's self-regulating, sort-of? I'd say that's a nice positive, but have you ever pushed past that "gag-factor"?

In my case, I'd have to pace it out. Sometimes after 2 cups, I might have a couple more cups an hour or so later on a rough day. At that point I can go from "really cooled down" to actually a little "drunk" feeling.

That, and it's a bit of effort to strain the stuff every time, so the effort is a deterent in itself -- it's like if everyone had to make their own "french fries" (chips) every time they wanted some, folks might be a little healthier laying off the fries/chips.

There's a neat documentary on youtube that mentioned potential kava "abuse" in the island areas (folks sit around and make a huge batch and drink shell upon shell), manly it mentions the skin dryness (dehydration) as a result. I don't think it mentioned anything much worse.

As a general rule of practical wisdom, best not to go to extremes or overdo anything in any case.

 

[kavadude]

Well, how much kava do you consume? As a hardhead I will have 8 tablespoons or so of root powder, and I run into the dermopathy in a few weeks, as well as the occasional wholly negative experience where I get stomach upset/tachycardia/etc, though these are very rare and don't seem to have any rhyme or reason as to when they will occur.

 

[StinkWeed]

Well, how much kava do you consume? As a hardhead I will have 8 tablespoons or so of root powder, and I run into the dermopathy in a few weeks, as well as the occasional wholly negative experience where I get stomach upset/tachycardia/etc, though these are very rare and don't seem to have any rhyme or reason as to when they will occur.

I generally consume about a half cup to a cup a day of root powder, with the most I'll EVER use to make my grog is 1.5 cups (which has only been a few occasions when I'm celebrating). I've been drinking it since I was a younger teen, but I have no idea as to whether that would make me more or less susceptible to negative effects.

 

[kavadude]

Wow, well beats me but it's pretty awesome that you can drink that much.

 

[StinkWeed]

Half a cup is by far my most common daily amount. Does your genetic makeup have anything to do with it? I have friends who have blue eyes who drink like fishes, and others who are all or a good portion native american like myself, and they can't drink even ONE shot without throwing up later.

 

[Sean D.]

I'm one of those lucky light weights. I started out by trying Yogi Stress Relief, which hardly has any kava, but I could already feel the effects. Moved on to powder and water extraction (and sometimes instant) and 3 heaping teapoons is plenty (sometimes up to 6 on a rough day) and not everyday, a couple times a week at best -- though sometimes I think I owe it to myself to make a batch a little more often. Sometimes I can even feel it into the next morning if I drink just before bed -- those are good days, no tension at work! more productive and focused. EDIT: body weight might have something to do with it too.

 

[StinkWeed]

That sounds pretty amazing I do looove the effects of most Kava's, but I never quite get that "shield" the next day. Nothing gets through to me while I'm drinking it though

 

[kavadude]

EDIT: body weight might have something to do with it too.

I've thought about doing a bodyweight/dose poll. The only thing I know is that infraredz weighs like 10 pounds or something and I used to be 220 and we both use similar doses.

There was a study showing that kava is much more effective as an anxiolytic in people with a certain gene; I've wondered if that can be generalized to some of the other effects as well.

 

[Sean D.]

@SW Eh I think I know what you mean by "shield" When I've had my kava it's impossible for me to get into arguments. I'm like in "cool logic" mode and my wife seems more receptive to what I say too. LOL.

EDIT: Lately I've been drinking Paradise Premium Fijian and sometimes BKH Instant.

 

[StinkWeed]

I'd be EXTREMELY interested in learning more about weight/dose response and genetic factors if someone could point me in the right direction and/or create that poll .

 

[Roaddog]

Don't know why you get no negative effects. But I know I do. If I overdo the kava, ill be itching for sure. But I know my limit, and try to stay under it. I have tried too many all day Kava sessions, to know what that leads too. @StinkWeed , maybe you should pull a few all day sessions, where you go through a 1/4 pound in a day. See if that gives you the undesirable effects. Although it may not matter. Some folks just seem to not get bad effects. Much love. Roaddog....

 

[StinkWeed]

For the sake of science I'll do it. I'll just need someone to fund this experiment.

 

[StinkWeed]

And so... After losing all mesh strainers in my household somehow, and after (actually) choking down unsifted, much less than finely powdered root... I'm proud to say I am very, very uncomfortably nauseated.