Kava causing agitation and dysphoria.

[BobBriggs]

I posted this yesterday, but have just realised I posted it in the Europe forum, so I'm reposting it here.

In recent months kava seems to have been causing me some agitation and dysphoria when I drink it. It's hard to describe, but it's reminds me of the beginning of a comedown. The only thing that had changed is that I now take 15mg of Lexapro and around 11.5mg of Mirtazapine daily.

Has anyone else experienced this? I had thought it might be due to the bad kava we have had in Sydney for the last few months, but I just got some better stuff, from my Pre-Covid vendor, and a similar, if slightly lessened, effect is present. Is there anything that can be done, short of coming off my medication or not using kava til I do?

 

[Zaphod]

I posted this yesterday, but have just realised I posted it in the Europe forum, so I'm reposting it here.

In recent months kava seems to have been causing me some agitation and dysphoria when I drink it. It's hard to describe, but it's reminds me of the beginning of a comedown. The only thing that had changed is that I now take 15mg of Lexapro and around 11.5mg of Mirtazapine daily.

Has anyone else experienced this? I had thought it might be due to the bad kava we have had in Sydney for the last few months, but I just got some better stuff, from my Pre-Covid vendor, and a similar, if slightly lessened, effect is present. Is there anything that can be done, short of coming off my medication or not using kava til I do?

I don't have experience with your other medications, but it is possible that kava is interfering with your body's ability to metabolize your medication and therefore making it less effective. We have pretty good anecdotal evidence of this happening elsewhere (example caffeine). I would mention it to your prescribing doctor and if they are not familiar with kava provide them with some published data on the the liver pathyway that kava uses.

Might be useful:

https://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/kavas-effect-on-antidepressants.16376/#post-176888

 

[BobBriggs]

That could be the case, although the effects I get from drinking kava at the moment are not those I got before I was on my medication, or anything like that. The medication is for insomnia and sleep-related anxiety.

 

[Manuel Joao]

Maybe you’re not drinking it in the right setting, I’d be dysphoric and agitated if say I was drinking kava while arguing on the phone with the IRS. I think you get what you put into it. If you create a nice time and setting to dink kava maybe you’ll get different results. Maybe you just got a case of the buzz kill?

 

[BobBriggs]

Maybe you’re not drinking it in the right setting, I’d be dysphoric and agitated if say I was drinking kava while arguing on the phone with the IRS. I think you get what you put into it. If you create a nice time and setting to dink kava maybe you’ll get different results. Maybe you just got a case of the buzz kill?

Perhaps, although this is an effect I have had in various situations. I had hoped it would be confined to the rubbish kava I have had to drink during Covid in Australia, but I have recently have gotten some better stuff, but that has been nearly as bad.

Today, though, it was a little better. The main difference seems to be that I took less Mirtazapine last night - about 5mg, instead of my usual 11mg or so. So maybe it is this combo that is the issue.

 

[ThePiper]

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Perhaps, although this is an effect I have had in various situations. I had hoped it would be confined to the rubbish kava I have had to drink during Covid in Australia, but I have recently have gotten some better stuff, but that has been nearly as bad.

Today, though, it was a little better. The main difference seems to be that I took less Mirtazapine last night - about 5mg, instead of my usual 11mg or so. So maybe it is this combo that is the issue.

I get some unpleasant feelings early in the kava session with many kavas (headier ones) and it is mild, but happens frequently enough. It can range from a mild tense body feeling to a wave of anxiety. Often I will feel cold. When it’s over I’m basically good for the day. It can be triggered by even like 2tbs of kava sometimes, and I use 4-6 tablespoons in a day or more. Definitely not a symptom of doing too much for me. Lasts maybe 10-40 minutes when it does happen and is often well-countered by something like a little scoop of cbd (full spectrum). It almost feels like my body is adjusting to the kava state or something.

 

[BobBriggs]

I have been taking K@/hirsuta (K@ is not legal here) daily in the morning and early afternoon. I wonder if this might be the cause of my kava issues. It is one of the things that has changed recently. I have also noticed that the less hirsuta I take earlier that day, the less agitation kava causes me. Or at least that has happened once or twice now, but it could be coincidence.