Gaia Herbs Kava Kava, started today

[kl.draikin]

Hi everyone,

1) Took my first pill of Gaia Herbs Kava Kava (to be taken 3 times a day) about 6 hours ago, and I don't feel any difference so far. Is that normal ?

2) The box says 'maximum time of use : 1 month'. Is it more reasonable and safer to follow this advice and switch to something else after one month (perhaps kava in powder or something), or does this warning is something of an exaggeration ?

 

[kl.midas]

Hi there, and welcome  (smiley: smile) I don't have any experience with that brand of pills, but the general consensus on here is that most such products aren't that great(smiley: ohwell) Still though, a lot of us find (me included) that even using a good quality root powder will not yield much results immediately until you build up a reverse tolerance. The pills might help you to build up this reverse tolerance, after which you could try a good quality root powder to get the full effects of kava.
As for using Kava no longer than a month, some people on here have been drinking the stuff for years! As have thousands of Pacific Islanders too, of course.

 

[kl.CarolinaBC]

I don't know what you are taking them for.  If for social anxiety then I'd double or triple that.  If for insomnia I'd take like 5 about 1.5 hours before bedtime.  If for recreational purposes I'd take three times the amount you are currently to build your reverse tolerance and buy some root powder some time next week from one of the great vendors like Paradise Kava, BHK or Nakamal at Home.  Steer clear of Kona Kava.  Get a strainer bag or a knee high nylon stocking and put about 1/4 cup in the stocking and immerse it into 2-3 cups of water and massage the bag of kava while underwater for 10-15 minutes and drink it in 4-8 ounce increment spaced about 10 minutes apart till you feel something.  You still might need to do this for a few days before the doors open for a true kava experience.  All I  can say is to keep doing it for a few days and you will definitely feel something-it won't be a maybe I feel something-you'll definitely  feel it.

 

[kl.draikin]

Actually I'm trying Kava it's for anxiety (not social anxiety, just trait/permanent/subconscious anxiety). I live in the UK and I understand that it's harder to get Kava product here, so I guess I'll have to make purchases on US websites. Anyway, I'll continue with 3 pills/day for a week or two to see how it goes. But I really thought the effect would be pretty immediate because my pills have 225mg of kavalactones which is not that weak ...

 

[kl.CarolinaBC]

I could be wrong but I find it hard to believe for what they cost that they could contain that much kavalactones.  Take one apart and see if it is a gel or a powder or what.  If it looks like sawdust then it is just root powder.

 

[kl.new2kava]

Dude I'd pretty much cease and desist with the kava cap rip off and save money and get superior results with straight kava root or reputable extracts like from paradise kava. The companies that make those are not kava enthusists they are just greedy corporations. You have no idea what type of kava or kavalactone lineup your getting and paying out the nose for it.



I'd keep taking a few a day as that may help you power through the reverse tolerance but if your looking for solid anxiety relief I'd recommend trying a few different kavalactone lineups. Something with high kavain and low DHM would be good; try melo melo or fu'u from bula kava house or the fijan from paradise kava or fiji waka from kava by rex as well. Those tend to be more euphoric and uplifting with great anxiety relief.



Then try something high DHM like; boroguro from bula or isa from paradise and stone from nakamal at home is the most crippling kava I've come across. Different people respond differently to kavalactones so it's good to try various types and mfind your sweet spot. There is no way to do that with capsules.



I believe all the companies I mentioned ship internationally and have great sucess doing so. They are all honest and very well established in the kava community. Whatever you do don't buy konakava! It's a common mistake amongst kava n00bs.



Well I hopw this helps and good luck with your kava endeavors.

 

[The Kap'n]

Gaia herbs was, for me, an effective anxiety reliever for generalized anxiety. I actually took either 4 or 5 and found myself a bit into sedation and familiar effects of kava. It is effective, and it most certainly is kava, but it's expensive. For your money any kava powder made traditionally will work better. If you're not into that, however, and only looking for the medicinal and medically studied effects I think you're right on the mark. They actually have quite a nice product for such a wide spread commercial chain.

 

[kl.draikin]

Thanks all for the replies.



@Kapmcrunk : yes, Gaia Herbs are well-known. I asked them questions before buying and I was very surprised by the quality of their replies (very personalized with documentation and everything). Can I ask you for how long did you take these pills (they say no more than 1 month) and after how many days did it start making effect ?

 

[The Kap'n]

I've partaken in kava since 2004. I switched from Gaia herbs in 2005 where I went to kava king powder (which is no longer available in the form it was back then, very potent) after kava king I tried kona kava which I think ruined my taste for traditional Hawaiian grown kavas due to it being just in every since, bad. I since then have tried nearly every strain and vendor. In purely answering your question I've used kava for exponentially longer than the bottle says to and the only side effect I've "suffered" is less anxiety and great sleep. You have no need to worry about the length of time. Untold number of people have kava as a part of their daily life for thousands of years.

It took a little while to feel the effects I'd say as few as a couple of weeks to get the medicinal effects to a month to feel the total and complete effects.

 

[Vekta]

+1 to Kapmcrunk
So true. 
I've been using kava for over a year and it's given me more freedom to live a normal everyday life. I don't worry about crippling anxiety attacks anymore. They're just a minor annoyance now if I have an anxiety attack at all.

 

[ObiWan]

draikin, where did you buy the Gaia?  I think Kava is banned in the UK. The only vendor I know in the UK who still sells them is supanaturalz.com

I would be interested to hear what kind of problems with the customs one has to fear in the UK.
BTW: As far as I know, Kava is NOT banned in Wales due to regional laws.

 

[kl.draikin]

@Kapmcrunk : did you switch from Gaia herbs because the effect started decreasing ?



@Vekta : plz can you tell me what exactly you consume and how frequently ? I thought Kava kills anxiety completely ..



@ObiWan : it was available on amazon.co.uk until 2-3 months ago. Here is where I bought it (shipping £2.40) : http://www.luxebc.com/her...lled-capsules-p5343#5343

 

[kl.midas]

It looks like they are gell filled capsules? I wonder if they'd be more potent if you allowed them to dissolve sublingually? Depending on how bad the taste is, of course!
Just saw a thread about them on another forum. Some people seem to have got decent results with them.
http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/15487092

 

[Vekta]

@draikin



I've tried a little bit of everything I could get a bag of. Some were better than other with regards to reducing anxiety. Everything worked fine for me except for two. I'm one of the few that's not a big fan of Solomon Island Kava when it's even available. Isa Kava was also much better as a pain killer than an anti anxiety treatment for me. YMMV.



When I'm measuring, my guideline ratio is 2 tbsp of root: 10 oz of water. Then I'll use Kava Candy as a "booster shot" when I have them on hand. A dose for treating anxiety is much lower than what you'd get for recreation. The kava candies have 50mg per candy in them. One of those is a decent booster shot but they taste so good that I'll probably end up having two.(smiley: laugh)
The Extract from Paradise kava also has a standardized dose of kava in it. Each pea size amount is 110-120mg. In either case around 100 mg seems to be the most effect for me. 
A shell or two of prepared root can easily be 5 times the single dosage of the above products. 
mmm...I don't know. For some it might completely kill anxiety. Not for me though. It severely reduces it though. I'd say kava has easily reduced it by 85-90%

 

[The Kap'n]

I switched to kava king from Gaia herbs due to cost and I was beginning to be a bit more adventurous with kava. If it works for you the way you're consuming it now and for its intended effects then you're set. You don't have to put on a full all-out kava ceremony. That's the beauty of kava. It's very flexible for a number of different uses. It helps me get 7 hours of sleep out of 5 if that makes sense.

 

[Paradise Kava]

Our Two cents: We need a "sticky" post here.
Something that talks about reverse tolerance  and flooding the system with kavalactones the first two times atleast.
Seems like we are repeating this text constantly.
what do you guys think?
A.G

 

[Vekta]

+1 sticky post.



Yup...looks like the forum has some good forward momentum now. We could probably use a number of sticky posts about various things.

 

[kl.midas]

Stickies would be a good idea. I'm almost certain that the 1st question I asked on here was about reverse tolerance

 

[Steve]

The exporter from Vanuatu has a pulse on everything that goes out of the country...I have heard some very good things about Gaia Herbs and they seem to really care about quality and customers.  As a result, the starting material is going to be quality.  Can't comment on the gel caps and not sure ratios they use but just my 2 cents

 

[mos3z]

I started with Gaia pills, took them daily for about 5 months. I had never heard of drinking kava before, lol.

Then I found this place and started researching drinking. Drinking is by far the way to go, but I believe the pills are a good starting point. I think because I took the pills for such a long time it built up my tolerance before I started drinking. I got wasted first time I had black sands.