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Back pain

Ja9

Newbie
It was recommended that I try a tincture for back pain. Has anyone had successful muscle relaxation from a tincture? Any product recommendations?
I've never tried Kava and I became overwhelmed trying to shop online.
 

Zaphod

Kava Lover
It was recommended that I try a tincture for back pain. Has anyone had successful muscle relaxation from a tincture? Any product recommendations?
I've never tried Kava and I became overwhelmed trying to shop online.
In general I wouldn't recommend a tincture, and for muscle relaxation doubly so. First, tinctures are okay but they are usually an alcohol extraction which is generally frowned upon. I have used them, and even made my own with some success but I wouldn't recommend it. Second, every extract that I have tried was a much more "heady" experience than a "heavy" body relaxing experience. What you really want is a good strong heavy kava for something like back pain. Don't be afraid of making kava with medium grind the traditional way or with an aluball. It is really quite simple. Microgrind can be a good option as well for trying out kava. If you are really bent on trying an extract Bula Kava House has a nice C02 extract that is pretty strong - but again more heady in my experience.
 

Groggy

Kava aficionado
Admin
To piggy back off Zaphod and offer an easy recommendation, you can get a kava called Kava Supreme on Amazon, it's easy enough and a good one for nighttime and/or possibly your back pain.
 

stalebird

Kava Curious
To piggy back off Zaphod and offer an easy recommendation, you can get a kava called Kava Supreme on Amazon, it's easy enough and a good one for nighttime and/or possibly your back pain.
Funny, on Amazon, they call Kava Supreme their heady version. I didn’t read that on Amazon that until I drank a few shells from my Avuball and felt closer to my couch that I care to admit :) definitely a “heavy” but then again I’m a newbie and have only tried 3 types.
 

Ja9

Newbie
Thank you for responding. The idea of the tincture is to keep it on hand for use while away from home, during the work day. It's to replace Rx pain patches that are no longer covered by my insurance. I have chronic pain from a spinal birth defect. I have pills but was hoping to find something that is less sedating, as I drive etc.
 

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
Thank you for responding. The idea of the tincture is to keep it on hand for use while away from home, during the work day. It's to replace Rx pain patches that are no longer covered by my insurance. I have chronic pain from a spinal birth defect. I have pills but was hoping to find something that is less sedating, as I drive etc.
Pain relieving kavas will be sedative also. I was going to chip in with some suggestions but I'm not sure kava will do what you are looking for I'm afraid. Definitely for night time use to help with sleep it would be perfect. If you do try a few types then try Papua New Guinea Isa. You can get it from a few different vendors such as root of Happiness or kava depot. It's a non noble kava meaning you're getting more of the heavy kavalactones which will do what you need. I wouldn't recommend it for regular, ongoing use but cycled it would be fine.
 

Ja9

Newbie
To follow up, I have another question about sleep and kava. I took your recommendations here and ruled out a tincture. I have tried the Papua isa, and kava supreme with the aluball. All worked as well as my Rx muscle relaxer, and allowed me to drift into sleep. Then between 2-4am I wake up. The wide awake, no way I can go back to sleep kind. It's happened 4 out of 4 times. Any ideas why, or what I can do to ensure my regular full nights sleep?

I intend to drink 2- 4 Tblsp of kava on Friday nights, so I can follow the "plan" posted in the new member forum. I see some people discussing how kava keeps them up, but no one seems to have interrupted sleep. Maybe I am doing something wrong?

Either way, thanks for helping me get started.
 

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
To follow up, I have another question about sleep and kava. I took your recommendations here and ruled out a tincture. I have tried the Papua isa, and kava supreme with the aluball. All worked as well as my Rx muscle relaxer, and allowed me to drift into sleep. Then between 2-4am I wake up. The wide awake, no way I can go back to sleep kind. It's happened 4 out of 4 times. Any ideas why, or what I can do to ensure my regular full nights sleep?

I intend to drink 2- 4 Tblsp of kava on Friday nights, so I can follow the "plan" posted in the new member forum. I see some people discussing how kava keeps them up, but no one seems to have interrupted sleep. Maybe I am doing something wrong?

Either way, thanks for helping me get started.
Quite often I find I can sleep right through the night for around 7 to 8 hours and sometimes have dreams and sometimes I just get a completely dark sleep. On occasions though I do wake up early and struggle to get back to sleep. I think with repeated use you would find that those occasions would become less and less. That's the way it happened for me.
 
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SelfBiasResistor

Persist for Resistance!
To follow up, I have another question about sleep and kava. I took your recommendations here and ruled out a tincture. I have tried the Papua isa, and kava supreme with the aluball. All worked as well as my Rx muscle relaxer, and allowed me to drift into sleep. Then between 2-4am I wake up. The wide awake, no way I can go back to sleep kind. It's happened 4 out of 4 times. Any ideas why, or what I can do to ensure my regular full nights sleep?
Good choice on avoiding the tinctures. They are pretty much worthless compared to prepared root beverages or micronized. There aren't many good heavy kava products out there right now but the ISA would be one of the best for sleep. If it's wearing off in the middle of the night you might just need to drink a bit more so the heavy KLs don't get processed out too quickly. You just need to find the balance that helps you sleep through the night but doesn't slow you down for part of the next day.

I intend to drink 2- 4 Tblsp of kava on Friday nights, so I can follow the "plan" posted in the new member forum. I see some people discussing how kava keeps them up, but no one seems to have interrupted sleep. Maybe I am doing something wrong?
If you're drinking quality heavy kava then it's all a matter of dosage. The kava supreme blend has changed and it's not something that I would recommend for sleep at this point. It would be a good one to blend with the ISA though if you want to make it a longer session to enjoy rather than being used medicinally.
 

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
One of the most effective kavas I have found for sedation right now is the Kadavu from Kava Time.
 

Ja9

Newbie
I seem to have found success with my weekly session. I got a very good night's sleep by taking a benadryl right before bed.

I mixed the supreme & ISA plus filtered the aluball drink a 2nd time with a superfine mesh strainer bag. By removing all that clay like sediment I avoided the stomach bloating that was causing extreme discomfort. I was able to fully hydrate afterwards because I wasn't uncomfortably "full".

Feeling much better today than any previous session. Muscles are still VERY relaxed but I have much more energy than my first few attempts.

Thanks again for all your guidance! Kava is a bit tricky.
 
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