Kava And Breathing

[WeAllFloatHere7]

Hi everyone,

New to posting here but have lurked for a long time. I have been drinking Kava daily since July, and sporadically for years before that. I typically have 15-17g in the mid morning for work, and then I'll have another 20-24g at night time to unwind before dinner. These sessions are about 10-11 hours apart. I have never gone higher than this, and recently have been sticking on the lower end of those ranges due to a breathing issue.

Last week I randomly started feeling short of breath. Almost as if I cannot get enough air and I have to forcefully suck in as much as I can to fill my lungs. Sometimes it feels like I got enough, but others it doesn't and I have to keep trying. I also do vape quite heavily, and thought that it may be the culprit, however after doing some searches here I'm starting to think the kava is playing a role. I'm not sure why this started when it did, and its not going away. Yesterday I skipped my morning Kava session and it didn't seem to help at all. I test my blood oxygen periodically and I'm always at a minimum of 96% (typically 98-99) so it doesn't seem to be having any negative impact on my actual oxygen intake.

I've seen threads of others mentioning this sensation before, but they are relatively old. Has anyone figured out the cause of this or how to get around it besides abstaining from drinking it? It REALLY helps me and I don't want to have to stop using it, but this feeling is not it. Its all day long as well, not just when I'm on the kava.

Any suggestions or information would be awesome!

 

[The Kap'n]

This is legitimately the only side effect of kava that we can't fully explain just yet. I personally believe there to be some afferent nerve stimulation, possibly vagal nerve, that causes this perception of dyspnea. It doesn't seem to be an actual oxygen depravation as you've seen, just a similar feeling.


Here's a bit of information about dyspnea in healthy individiuals.

Gigliotti, Francesco. 2010. “Mechanisms of Dyspnea in Healthy Subjects.” Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine 5 (3): 195–201. https://doi.org/10.1186/2049-6958-5-3-195.

 

[WeAllFloatHere7]

This is legitimately the only side effect of kava that we can't fully explain just yet. I personally believe there to be some afferent nerve stimulation, possibly vagal nerve, that causes this perception of dyspnea. It doesn't seem to be an actual oxygen depravation as you've seen, just a similar feeling.


Here's a bit of information about dyspnea in healthy individiuals.

Gigliotti, Francesco. 2010. “Mechanisms of Dyspnea in Healthy Subjects.” Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine 5 (3): 195–201. https://doi.org/10.1186/2049-6958-5-3-195.

I appreciate the info on this! Does this mean that it isn't something to really be concerned with? I have drank kava daily for awhile now as said above, and this only started happening about a week and a half or so ago, seemingly at random. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure it out or what I need to do to get it to stop, and have cut back a bit on the kava usage (down to about 35g a day total) and hoping that it resolves itself and I don't have to stop

 

[The Kap'n]

I appreciate the info on this! Does this mean that it isn't something to really be concerned with? I have drank kava daily for awhile now as said above, and this only started happening about a week and a half or so ago, seemingly at random. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure it out or what I need to do to get it to stop, and have cut back a bit on the kava usage (down to about 35g a day total) and hoping that it resolves itself and I don't have to stop

It means it's just a perception due to nerve activation, so there would be no danger here.

 

[WeAllFloatHere7]

It means it's just a perception due to nerve activation, so there would be no danger here.

Thats good to hear! I've dropped my consumption considerably (down to about 34-35g per day) and that feeling still isn't going away... It kinda came out of nowhere and just pops up randomly even when using the same batches of kava, sometimes even 6-8 hours post consumption. Part of me wonders if its something else causing this, but kava makes sense as this is a known side effect. Idk. Maybe a call to the doctor is in order.