Kava Side Effects Huge issue with constipation, suggestions?

[BourbonMac]

At first I thought only micronized was doing this to me, I took it unstrained because it wasn't suggested to be strained. But now that I use traditional prep kava, I'm still having this issue. I can tell it's likely dehydration as my urine often has little to no color, but it tends to be yellower. As far as I can tell I drink enough water to not piss the bed, I mean just at work even if it's a 5 hour day (I work part time atm) I'll drink 72oz of water. Water is all I drink, really aside from almond milk which tends to go in my nightly chamomile tea.

I'm sure doubling up on magnesium and such would be OK. This seemed to work alright for me before but it hasn't lately, I went awhile ago and it was like black rocks and so difficult to go. Now I do tend to have issues like this more in the winter. During spring/summer/fall, I tend to go for a 4 mile walk every evening, and given I work retail I'm often walking around a lot anyway so I guess probably 6 miles of walking on average. I have ADHD, so it's hard to stay still. But then it can also be hard to do anything when it's winter.

I'm only posting this thread because I don't know how many others this affects. If a bit of Miralax here and there with magnesium is the only answer then I guess that's OK. I have CHRONIC tinnitus, the worst you can imagine, and ever since I discovered kava, while taking it my ears are so much better. Even now, on a day off, where my ears are always worse, they're great. It's just incredible, I have no idea how it works this well, nothing else does. Until I figure out what is really wrong, this is my solution and it's letting me sleep better and generally just stay sane. Imagine 100 CRT televisions whining and a vacuum cleaner going and you might have a slight idea how bad it really gets.

Now, I've only recently stopped taking an extract which... would get pretty clumpy. It says on the bag it dissolves in water but it totally doesn't lol. So it's almost like taking micronized in a way. After accidentally taking too much the other night and having a horrible time, I swore off it. So maybe once I switch to exclusively medium grind I'll be OK. I did make a thread yesterday with some other questions about medium prep and apologize if I'm rapid firing with thread questions and such. This plant just amazes me. I've tried everything anyone could ever suggest for tinnitus. I didn't order kava for this reason, I just wanted to try it out. I had no idea it would help my tinnitus this much. I thought the whole time I was taking micronized that it was simply ibuprofen I took for headaches that reduced my tinnitus, but no, it was the kava the whole time.

 

[The Kap'n]

I can tell it's likely dehydration as my urine often has little to no color, but it tends to be yellower.

This would indicate you're actually not dehydrated. Urine in the state of dehydration will be much cloudier and much darker.

Although you may have meant to say "I can tell it's likely not dehydration"


Regarding constipation, that's a strange one to us who have been drinking kava for decades. Kava routinely makes us run to the bathroom after the first few shells.

Do you have any pain with these bouts? You could possibly be dealing with something entirely different such as IBS-C.

 

[ThePiper]

If you’re going the magnesium route try specifically buying magnesium citrate, it’s better for your body as it’s more bioavailable. You can buy it in bulk online for far cheaper than the pills you get in the health food store. Try nootropics depot if you want the best quality and lab tested, but there are cheaper options on Amazon. Also a probiotic or a soluble fiber supplement would also potentially help. Kava shouldn’t cause constipation on its own, are you taking anything else? Also generally speaking make sure you are getting enough of the other electrolytes and not just magnesium. They draw water through your digestive system. Another idea, Make sure you are eating your greens. I find celery first thing in the morning before I eat anything else helps keep me regular when I make the effort to do it. 3 stalks does the trick for me. I have also had some digestive benefit from eating aloe gel or drinking the juice. One more idea, olive oil shots! Olive oil first thing in the morning is supposedly a great health tonic and if you take a tablespoon or two it is alleged to have many benefits, but it helps keep things moving down there ime.

there ya go, just a few home remedies that I’ve tried that are pretty safe and most should be holistically beneficial for the body as a bonus. you might wanna try a couple out to relieve constipation in the short term as I know it causes discomfort and can throw off your workday etc. but yeah kava alone should not cause constipation. Some heavy kava even gives me loose stool (in my experience) on rare occasion. Glad to hear about your tinnitus improving kava makes my ears ring sometimes, but we are all different! Hope this helps.

 

[BourbonMac]

Citrate I've never had luck with personally. I've been taking oxide which is more of a laxative, although, it's only a small amount as far as I'm aware of what's otherwise glycinate. If I was taking straight oxide I'd probably be going too much. Otherwise no, I don't take anything else except some THC now and then.

I do definitely have an odd diet going on right now, so there are other factors for sure. Thanks for the suggestions. Maybe I'll re-try citrate at some point, I just know the "calm" brand doesn't have a laxative effect on me nor do Walmart brand capsules.

 

[Orz[EST]]

Powdered fiber as food supplement. Prunes, maybe.
Isotonic drinks.
Those are just foods, will not search pharmaceutical plants like senna now.

 

[BourbonMac]

If you mean like, metamucil, that stuff actually backs me up even more.
Surprisingly, tonight, kava actually MADE me go, and I went beautifully. It's extremely unusual for me to go at 2am.

 

[BourbonMac]

So I've figured this out finally.
The extract is 100% responsible for the constipation. I still have a little bit of it left and recently since I was low on medium grind (just finished it, buying more), I would do like 2-3g of the extract and 20g of the medium grind.

So you're correct @The Kap'n about how it's unusual for regular grind to cause it, because on two occasions, Thursday night and last night, it made me start feeling like I had to go just sips into it, like black coffee or something.

Thursday night I'd gone and it was terrible. Lumpy, dark, just unhealthy looking. Then after the regular kava, I went perfectly normal looking. It's quite unusual for stool to change like that, but the kava does something, that's for sure. I had the exact same thing happen last night. So yeah I'm done with extract. Actually after having switched to real kava, the extract seems weak now, like it doesn't do anything. Now that my body is used to real kavalactones and not just an extract of kavalactones period, I'd guess this is why. It's the same stuff. At this point I'm only going to be taking it until my next batch of kava comes because kavalactones help my chronic tinnitus period. I'm really not a big fan of the extract at this point. It's a lumpy mess. Kava tastes like shoelaces but at least it's liquid.

 

[Kiwivet]

I am new to kava and have been bunged up a bit this first 10 days then yesterday everything shifted

 

[JohnMichael]

I am new to kava and have been bunged up a bit this first 10 days then yesterday everything shifted

I hope it was a good shift...

 

[Groggy]

I am new to kava and have been bunged up a bit this first 10 days then yesterday everything shifted

Welcome, I moved you over to New Members this morning and than realized it should have stayed where it was....

So it's back...

 

[The Kap'n]

So I've figured this out finally.
The extract is 100% responsible for the constipation. I still have a little bit of it left and recently since I was low on medium grind (just finished it, buying more), I would do like 2-3g of the extract and 20g of the medium grind.

So you're correct @The Kap'n about how it's unusual for regular grind to cause it, because on two occasions, Thursday night and last night, it made me start feeling like I had to go just sips into it, like black coffee or something.

Thursday night I'd gone and it was terrible. Lumpy, dark, just unhealthy looking. Then after the regular kava, I went perfectly normal looking. It's quite unusual for stool to change like that, but the kava does something, that's for sure. I had the exact same thing happen last night. So yeah I'm done with extract. Actually after having switched to real kava, the extract seems weak now, like it doesn't do anything. Now that my body is used to real kavalactones and not just an extract of kavalactones period, I'd guess this is why. It's the same stuff. At this point I'm only going to be taking it until my next batch of kava comes because kavalactones help my chronic tinnitus period. I'm really not a big fan of the extract at this point. It's a lumpy mess. Kava tastes like shoelaces but at least it's liquid.

Yep, sounds like your system is more tuned for traditional kava consumption. Don't feel bad about that, because truthfully traditional prep is way better.

 

[BourbonMac]

Yeah, I know micro might be more potent or whatever but I heard it can cause skin issues more, strained or not. I got a sample pack of 6 strains from FijiVanuaKava today, excited to try some this evening. Researching what strains give what type of effects, just can't find anything on this "old roots" variety

 

[ChoppyShores]

One other thing you might try if you have issues again is some Pedialyte or similar electrolyte drink or salty foods. I think I just made this suggestion to another user here recently, but I'm a huge advocate for ensuring you're getting enough sodium especially, alongside of adequate potassium and magnesium if you're using kava in any appreciable amount every day. I use a lot of kava and take another diuretic every day as well so I get double electrolyte depleted lol. I've delt with similar constipation issues and it really sucks. I've found that for me sodium is very important, having a proper amount of sodium helps you retain fluids and the other electrolytes that the diuretic action of kava tries to flush out. I've also found that it can be difficult to get a good amount of sodium if you eat healthy stuff rather than processed crap unless you always salt your meals well. Though if you're already getting the recommend amounts of sodium, or there's a reason you can't have any extra, please disregard my salt evangelism lol. Best of luck! I hope it stays working out for you now

 

[PapaCthulu]

At first I thought only micronized was doing this to me, I took it unstrained because it wasn't suggested to be strained. But now that I use traditional prep kava, I'm still having this issue. I can tell it's likely dehydration as my urine often has little to no color, but it tends to be yellower. As far as I can tell I drink enough water to not piss the bed, I mean just at work even if it's a 5 hour day (I work part time atm) I'll drink 72oz of water. Water is all I drink, really aside from almond milk which tends to go in my nightly chamomile tea.

I'm sure doubling up on magnesium and such would be OK. This seemed to work alright for me before but it hasn't lately, I went awhile ago and it was like black rocks and so difficult to go. Now I do tend to have issues like this more in the winter. During spring/summer/fall, I tend to go for a 4 mile walk every evening, and given I work retail I'm often walking around a lot anyway so I guess probably 6 miles of walking on average. I have ADHD, so it's hard to stay still. But then it can also be hard to do anything when it's winter.

I'm only posting this thread because I don't know how many others this affects. If a bit of Miralax here and there with magnesium is the only answer then I guess that's OK. I have CHRONIC tinnitus, the worst you can imagine, and ever since I discovered kava, while taking it my ears are so much better. Even now, on a day off, where my ears are always worse, they're great. It's just incredible, I have no idea how it works this well, nothing else does. Until I figure out what is really wrong, this is my solution and it's letting me sleep better and generally just stay sane. Imagine 100 CRT televisions whining and a vacuum cleaner going and you might have a slight idea how bad it really gets.

Now, I've only recently stopped taking an extract which... would get pretty clumpy. It says on the bag it dissolves in water but it totally doesn't lol. So it's almost like taking micronized in a way. After accidentally taking too much the other night and having a horrible time, I swore off it. So maybe once I switch to exclusively medium grind I'll be OK. I did make a thread yesterday with some other questions about medium prep and apologize if I'm rapid firing with thread questions and such. This plant just amazes me. I've tried everything anyone could ever suggest for tinnitus. I didn't order kava for this reason, I just wanted to try it out. I had no idea it would help my tinnitus this much. I thought the whole time I was taking micronized that it was simply ibuprofen I took for headaches that reduced my tinnitus, but no, it was the kava the whole time.

What is your diet like?

 

[BourbonMac]

Refer a couple of posts back. My body basically just had to get adjusted to the kava. My diet is generally excellent. Plenty of fiber, vegetables, water. Unfortunately now I have to quit because I'm developing likely early stage dermopathy with irritated skin and some redness.

 

[AbudabiJarry]

Constipation can indeed be a bothersome issue. It's good that you're considering your water intake; staying hydrated is crucial. Since you've mentioned that magnesium has helped in the past, doubling up on it might be worth a try. If you're experiencing difficulties, it might be helpful to consult a healthcare professional for personalized advice. Additionally, if you ever need support or information on managing health-related concerns, you can check out https://www.mentalhealth.com/therapy/the-duty-of-confidentiality-for-mental-health-professionals. Remember, it's essential to address your health concerns, and seeking professional guidance can be a positive step. Take care!