Increased kava tolerance with long term use?

[SelfBiasResistor]

Have any other long term, high dosage users noticed this? The talk is always around reverse tolerance. I never really experienced that but after using kava for an extended time without many breaks (about a year), I've noticed that all kava seems kind of weak. The initial rush is very short lived, it also does not work very well as a sleep aid anymore. I know the obvious solution is going to be taking a break but just wondering if anyone else has experienced this...

 

[ObiWan]

Yes, definitely.
If it is not a kind of tolerance, the Kavas must have become much weaker. Partially this could be the case. Maybe they sre selling too young plants because of the increased demand while on the same time there is a Kava shortage in Vanuatu.

 

[TheKavaSociety]

Not really. I would say that sometimes particular strains feel a but weaker, but when I keep switching between cultivars they all feel equally potent. I've read that this was one of the reasons why islanders kept growing a few different cultivars in their village - just to keep things intetesting.

But generally speaking I am more sensituve to kava's effects today than a few years ago

 

[The Kap'n]

40 grams of kava today still feels like 40 grams of kava did 4 years ago, and I drink it daily. My routine is different in that I only drink kava for the sedative effects, so I have to say that if some of the heady effect were to be lost to time, I probably wouldn't have noticed all that much.

 

[ObiWan]

40 grams of kava today still feels like 40 grams of kava did 4 years ago, and I drink it daily..

Do you drink it once a day or do you split the 40gramms and drink it at morning and at evening?
I drink 6-10 gramms before breakfast and 20 gramms before the evening meal. Do you drink all at once or do you wait between the shells?
20 gramms is about 2-3 shells for me (I usually make at least a 2nd wash). I drink the shells at once because I am hungry when I come home and don't want to wait too long before eating.
I think I never drank more then 25gramms at once...

 

[TheKavaSociety]

I've been using roughly the same amount of kava for years. i've noticed that sometimes it gives me strong effects and sometimes it's kind of weak. but this really depends on other factors: e.g. how much food/coffee i've had, how tired i am, my mood, stress levels, etc etc etc. But, remarkably, I am generally more sensitive to kava today than when I started drinking it

 

[Summer]

This is interesting to me as well because I definitely feel more tolerant to kava. That being said, I generally drink the same two cultivars (maybe three), and don't really mix up my schedule too often.

I have been drinking kava almost daily for a little over a year. I have noticed great benefits to my sleep although I often wonder how it would be with no kava, but I'm not interested much in stopping right now. The benefits are still there for me and my side effects are few.

 

[The Kap'n]

Do you drink it once a day or do you split the 40gramms and drink it at morning and at evening?
I drink 6-10 gramms before breakfast and 20 gramms before the evening meal. Do you drink all at once or do you wait between the shells?
20 gramms is about 2-3 shells for me (I usually make at least a 2nd wash). I drink the shells at once because I am hungry when I come home and don't want to wait too long before eating.
I think I never drank more then 25gramms at once...

I drink the entire prep at once in the evening.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Yeah i find its just a natural thing that when your expecting the heady effects and they don't always come... kava always works just doesn't always blow me away and make me feel amazing. this is the part of every and any psychoactive that comes and goes while the medicinal aspects remain

 

[Kojo Douglas]

I have an incredible sensitivity to reverse tolerance. It's to the point that drinking Kava every day, day after day, seems to be the best way to hit euphoric levels of krunkness. If I don't drink Kava for several weeks, I need to build up again before I can get any effects. I have had experiences where I didn't hear the Kava, but I still attribute it to diet, low stress levels, environment, and other factors.

 

[Ricardo Piquant]

Rotate strains.

 

[Señor Chuggs]

My interpretation is along the mystical "listening to the kava" vein of thought. I have had experiences where kava has not affected me much. When I first started trying kava, it seemed to take a few sessions before I knew what to listen for. I've read other posts that use this explanation for reverse tolerance.

There have been other times though, where I'd been drinking large amounts of kava several times a day for weeks, and it wasn't quite there for me.

I think it is somewhat psychological. When I get into a routine of drinking kava at every available opportunity, there comes a point where I'm not seeking anything of introspective value. I'm just mindlessly indulging. Kava is truly unique and satisfying every time I drink it and im in the mindset to listen.

When I take a jug along with me to the loud, belligerent house party (and I AM that guy quite routinely) I don't get the same, powerful response as I do when I'm at home or out in the park, and in a mood to think....deliberately.

I am rather thin and I have a generally low tolerance for alcohol and other drugs, so it could be that my physiology allows me to not notice my tolerance or lack of.

 

[boxcar beatnik]

I have an incredible sensitivity to reverse tolerance. It's to the point that drinking Kava every day, day after day, seems to be the best way to hit euphoric levels of krunkness. If I don't drink Kava for several weeks, I need to build up again before I can get any effects. I have had experiences where I didn't hear the Kava, but I still attribute it to diet, low stress levels, environment, and other factors.

This is my experience as well

 

[FYS]

I've been using roughly the same amount of kava for years. i've noticed that sometimes it gives me strong effects and sometimes it's kind of weak. but this really depends on other factors: e.g. how much food/coffee i've had, how tired i am, my mood, stress levels, etc etc etc. But, remarkably, I am generally more sensitive to kava today than when I started drinking it

I can have somewhat different effects from the same kava on different days as well. From my completely nonscientific, anecdotal evidence it really seems to me that state of mind when going into it is a huge factor for me right up there with what, how much, and how long ago I ate.

 

[SelfBiasResistor]

Yes, definitely.
If it is not a kind of tolerance, the Kavas must have become much weaker. Partially this could be the case. Maybe they are selling too young plants because of the increased demand while on the same time there is a Kava shortage in Vanuatu.

That was my first thought when I noticed the effects weaken. Because of the variety of kava I use, it started to seem less likely. As far as rotation of strains, I do rotate frequently, in addition to vendors. Mostly GHK, KWK, Cactus, BKH and N@H. I typically use medium grind but sometimes use instant and occasionally use micro. Initially, when I didn't drink it every night, I felt the need to take breaks (day or two) every week or so because I felt like it was building up too strong. Eventually that went away and it became hard to get back the feeling I had been used to. I don't remember the last time I had ear ringing effects. Normal dosage is medium grind 12Tbsp, Micro/Instant 6Tbsp...

 

[TheKavaSociety]

That was my first thought when I noticed the effects weaken. Because of the variety of kava I use, it started to seem less likely. As far as rotation of strains, I do rotate frequently, in addition to vendors. Mostly GHK, KWK, Cactus, BKH and N@H. I typically use medium grind but sometimes use instant and occasionally use micro. Initially, when I didn't drink it every night, I felt the need to take breaks (day or two) every week or so because I felt like it was building up too strong. Eventually that went away and it became hard to get back the feeling I had been used to. I don't remember the last time I had ear ringing effects. Normal dosage is medium grind 12Tbsp, Micro/Instant 6Tbsp...

Strange. Perhaps you drink too much tea/coffee during the day?
Or maybe your body's chemistry is different..

 

[Edward]

I have an incredible sensitivity to reverse tolerance. It's to the point that drinking Kava every day, day after day, seems to be the best way to hit euphoric levels of krunkness. If I don't drink Kava for several weeks, I need to build up again before I can get any effects. I have had experiences where I didn't hear the Kava, but I still attribute it to diet, low stress levels, environment, and other factors.

Yes I would say that is the same for me although I can get back up to speed a bit quicker. Recently I have had some more intermittent use due to illness and other things but I spent a good long time drinking only kava and daily too. I did get a bit jaded with kava towards the end of it but I was still in the stage of trying to discover my boundaries so I was pushing it a bit on many days of the week. Now I am more comfortable with my required intake to give me what I want I don't need to go big every day and I've been getting better experiences in general.