Does anyone else find that having kavalactones in your system sensitizes you to other drugs?

[kalmia_latifolia]

I've been taking relatively small doses of kava daily for about a month (≤2 tbsp medium grind), and I've found that my sensitivity to other drugs appears to be much higher. For about 15 years I've been a heavy black tea drinker (3-10 cups per day, every day), but now that makes me kinda dizzy. So I cut back to 1-2 and I feel fine. I had 3 beers the other day (no kava that day), and it got me pretty drunk and I was slightly hungover the next day. Before kava I was a regular (though light) drinker, and 3 beers wouldn't have had an overpowering effect on me.

Is this a common phenomenon? If common, do people think that the accumulation of kavalactones in your system is responsible? I'd be curious to let them purge completely from my system and see if the phenomenon persists, it could just be that my tolerance is lower to ethanol and caffeine due to decreased use.

 

[HeadHodge]

I've been taking relatively small doses of kava daily for about a month (≤2 tbsp medium grind), and I've found that my sensitivity to other drugs appears to be much higher. For about 15 years I've been a heavy black tea drinker (3-10 cups per day, every day), but now that makes me kinda dizzy. So I cut back to 1-2 and I feel fine. I had 3 beers the other day (no kava that day), and it got me pretty drunk and I was slightly hungover the next day. Before kava I was a regular (though light) drinker, and 3 beers wouldn't have had an overpowering effect on me.

Is this a common phenomenon? If common, do people think that the accumulation of kavalactones in your system is responsible? I'd be curious to let them purge completely from my system and see if the phenomenon persists, it could just be that my tolerance is lower to ethanol and caffeine due to decreased use.

For me kava and alcohol pontentiate each other and not necessarily in good ways. So its best to keep them away from each other.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Yes . This happens for sure.

 

[kalmia_latifolia]

What a unique plant! No addiction, no tolerance, and increased sensitivity to other drugs! Amazing. I’ve never heard of anything else like it!

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Yeah, I used to drink a lot of tea as well..now I have to drink white tea to drink it all day ! Lol
I can't even try coffee any more though ... but my own constitution/body type leads me to be over stimulated anyway. Kava makes that worse though. I have found that liver herbs help like dandelion root decoction

 

[kalmia_latifolia]

You think it has to do with liver impairment?

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

I've been taking relatively small doses of kava daily for about a month (≤2 tbsp medium grind), and I've found that my sensitivity to other drugs appears to be much higher. For about 15 years I've been a heavy black tea drinker (3-10 cups per day, every day), but now that makes me kinda dizzy. So I cut back to 1-2 and I feel fine. I had 3 beers the other day (no kava that day), and it got me pretty drunk and I was slightly hungover the next day. Before kava I was a regular (though light) drinker, and 3 beers wouldn't have had an overpowering effect on me.

Is this a common phenomenon? If common, do people think that the accumulation of kavalactones in your system is responsible? I'd be curious to let them purge completely from my system and see if the phenomenon persists, it could just be that my tolerance is lower to ethanol and caffeine due to decreased use.

Same happened to me. Went from a 4 - 6 beer a day drinker to 3 then 1 then nothing, completely stopped all alcohol. Used to love 2 - 4 coffees a day. Quickly went to 1 a day, and drink cups half the size.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

For me kava and alcohol pontentiate each other and not necessarily in good ways. So its best to keep them away from each other.

I have two rules now.

1 if I'm going to have alcohol, I must stop all kava for three days first, then wait three days after the alcohol before having any kava again.


2 no way in hell I'm going three days without grog, so forget alcohol.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

No. It's not a form of impairment.
Either the liver is busy with the 48 hours or so it has to spend working on the heavy KLs.. or something in kava inhibits the enzymes that breakdown caffeine and alcohol.
I wouldn't call that impairment but some might..
It's the same as grapefruit it seems

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

No. It's not a form of impairment.

It's not a bug, it's a feature!