Did I draw the short straw for the Kava Allergy?

[Fish&Grog]

Hi All,
I started Kava about 2 weeks ago with two varieties from the Kalm with Kava. Worked my way through a half pound of each and loved it. Huge improvement in my anxiety, sleep, pain, and no desire to drink. Since I ran out, I ordered a pound each of Leweena, Waka, Vanuatu, and Talanoa Mada from Fiji Vanau Kava. Also ordered a pound of Waka from squanch.
All of these arrived last Thursday which also happened to be the day i got a flu shot and was started on Almodoipine for blood pressure.

My normal usage is 2-4 tbs a day either shaken in the kalm bag or traditional prep with the kalm with Kava synthetic strainer. Thursday with new Kavas in hand I tried a couple of them, maybe had a little more then usual but not much since i worked friday. Friday night it's the weekend so I had more then usual maybe 80 g over the course of few hours. Definetley overdid it and puked. Went to bed the next day. Saturday I had a lot of house work to do so mixed up a patch of mostly lewena and talanoa Mada, 60 g which I drank slowly from 2 pm till 9 ish. Finished the night with with 1 tbsp of Waka and went to bed.

Next morning I woke up with some redness on my cheeks but thought they were just a bit dry. As I do get dry skin from Kava and have to drink lots of water and slather my self in lotion. Had a Kava session planned with a friend and we had about 40 g each, traditional prep over maybe 5 hours.

Wake up Monday and the face redness had progressed to some bumps and and had started to spread to my back and arms. Not to bad and have read a lot reports about people getting a similar reaction a cutting way back but continuing to drink a little Kava to let the body adjust and over come the reaction. Had 1 tbsp of Kava Monday night and went to bed.
Tuesday morning woke up to a puffy face, and red itchy welts all over my chest, back, and arms. No trouble breathing but itchy and very unpleasant so went to urgent care. Explained the timing of Kava, starting BP med, and flu shot and was advised to stop BP med and Kava until the reaction clears up and then try adding back to find the source. Given a large dose of dexamethasone in the office and sent home with prescription for prednisone, pepcid (h2 antagonist) and instructions to take benadryl and use benadryl cream to manage symptoms.
Now this morning I'm up and it's better and worse. Face is looking much better but my back and arms look worse. Itching is maybe a bit better and do generally feel more alive today then yesterday. I did schedule an appointment with an allergy specialist for tomorrow to see what they think.

Really hoping it's not the Kava, or I just over did it and can come back to it after things calm down. I did order a new variety I haven't tried yet from kalm with Kava to rule out a bad batch or strain once things settled down. Part of me just wants say screw it and keep drinking kava to try and push through while the body adapts like I've seen some other users suggest. With all this stress and physical discomfort I could really use a couple shells.

 

[Groggy]

Well, for 2 weeks you have overdone it and your body is not accustomed to that much yet, sounds like classic dermo. Sounds like the Urgent care doc gave you good advice. I take blood pressure meds, Cholesterol meds and few other for good measure, lol. no problems at all.

I'd say take it easy on the kava, let your body get used to it and be sure to add some food in between shells, there's no need to go hungry the whole time. If you want to go a little heavier on the weekends keep some Pedialyte, coconut water (personal favorite) around and chug it before bed and/or throughout. You need more than just water to balance things out. When you get out of the shower be sure to cover your body in lotion regardless of symptoms use one of those all body everyday lotions. This is especially important this time of the year when it's colder. Some days are going to be better than others, kava is not always amazing everyday, but it's pretty reliable.

As far as the stuff you're drinking it sounds like you're going down the right path be careful with squanch, stronger than most.

Welcome to KF

 

[Fish&Grog]

Thanks Groggy,

Its nice to hear that I may have just over done it and have a chance of going back to kava after things calm down. I've been reading posts about the kava allergy and posted over on r/kava as well and it was disheartening to hear I probably would have to be done with kava after how much of a positive impact its had on my mental health and alcohol use.

From my understanding the classic dermo you mentioned was more like scaly dry skin. What I've got going definitely seems more like itchy hives that people talk about with the allergy. I'd much prefer it to just be dermo though!

I'm also a bit of a nerd and have been reading articles about drug desensitization for delayed onset hypersensitivities which seems to fit well with what I'm having and what other people with the kava allergy experience. Based on that and what other people that have gotten through it have said I'm thinking once things have cleared up I will start reintroducing kava with the new one from kalm at a low dose. Say starting at a tablespoon (maybe less) and slowly working up each day till I'm back to a normal dose. I'll keep taking zyrtec as a preventative as I take that almost year round anyways (seasonal allergies and mild cat allergies, doesn't keep me from having a cat though!) Benadryl as needed since I tolerate it well and it doesn't make me too sleepy. Assuming I can get through the new kava fine, I'll start adding the other varities back one at a time to rule out it being any specific one. If it is variety specific I hope its not the fijian wakas as I've quite like those so far!

 

[TheKavaSociety]

It could also be a reaction to another allergen thst could have been present in some small quantity in one if the batches you tried. Could be some pollen, mould, other tiny plant matter etc.

If you were to try again, I would suggest maybe trying some kava from a different area

 

[Groggy]

Its nice to hear that I may have just over done it and have a chance of going back to kava after things calm down.

Totally common.

It could also be a reaction to another allergen thst could have been present in some small quantity in one if the batches you tried. Could be some pollen, mould, other tiny plant matter etc.

If you were to try again, I would suggest maybe trying some kava from a different area

There is something to be said to this as well. For a long time, I only drank Fijian kavas. They tend to give me more allergic flare-ups than say a kava from Hawaii or a better single cultivar from Vanuatu. The truth is that not all kava is grown, dried, peeled and processed alike and I am not referring to the vendor (although it is important to trust your vendor and know they go above and beyond) kalm with kava is an example as is The kava Society of New Zeeland, Fiji Vanua. These vendors go above and beyond and the end product is considerably better.

The point, try other kavas and vendors but try more than just Fijian kava. I like Fijian too, but you can find similar style kavas from all other kava regions of the world. For instance, since you are mentioning Kalm (great above and beyond Co.) consider this line up;

Private Reserve Kavas | Exclusive Varieties | Kalm with Kava

Our premium Private Reserve kavas are specially cultivated by our farmers. These exclusive varieties offer enjoyably relaxant effects. Shop now.

kalmwithkava.com

From my understanding the classic dermo you mentioned was more like scaly dry skin. What I've got going definitely seems more like itchy hives that people talk about with the allergy. I'd much prefer it to just be dermo though!

Dermo like many things in life come in all shapes and sizes, they follow a similar path, but some people are more susceptible than others.