Kava causing health issues.

[Red_B]

I love kava it has helped me deal with life and I have met some of my best friends in kava bars. I have such bad anxiety that a normal conversation with a loved one ran about an 8 (1-10 scale). Kava works the best (I have tried just about everything else), it takes that conversation from an 8 to a 4 or less. But now when I drink kava I have this really scary feeling in my gut, it gets sore and just feels wrong, I also get the soreness in my spleen. It's hard to describe the feeling but it's not good.

Yes yes, stop drinking kava, but I am addicted so it's a process I'm working on. I usually drink a gallon a week of strong root, so I am tampering. I have found glutathione supplements help quite a bit. How much glutathione can you take a day?

I am rather devastated I might have to totally stop taking kava, it's been so useful and pretty much the only socializing I do is at kava bars, where my friends are.

Has anyone else experienced this? If so any recommendations (other than the obvious)?

Do others experience Kava withdrawals?

I must add i have a compromised liver.

 

[ThePiper]

What liver issue do you have if you don't mind telling us?

You are saying you believe you are addicted to kava, but are you saying you think you will get withdrawals? I don't think there's ever been any report of withdrawal from kava. Calling your kava use a kava addiction is a stretch in any scenario, but I do not know your situation. It sounds more like you are dependent on kava as an anxiety treatment rather than as an addiction. Thinking about it as objectively as possible, does kava improve your ability to be productive, happy, and maintain relationships in life? If you say yes to both, then it isn't really an addiction. You have a need to treat your anxiety and kava works for you. To call this an addiction would be like calling someone who needs blood pressure medicine an addict.

A gallon of grog can be a small amount or a large amount, it's the amount of root that goes into it that matters.

What kava are you drinking? Is it verifiably noble root? Or could it be from a kava bar or a questionable source? If it isn't noble root, switching to verified noble might be the answer

I'm sorry you are having a bad experience with your kava drinking now. I would suggest getting a liver panel done if you can afford to.

 

[Rick.Sanchez]

Addiction has a murky definition, but I wouldn't downplay psychological addiction which can occur with almost anything pleasurable including things like fast food. If you continue doing something in spite of negative health consequences, it could qualify as an addiction.

I think a doctor's visit is the right call

 

[Red_B]

What liver issue do you have if you don't mind telling us?

You are saying you believe you are addicted to kava, but are you saying you think you will get withdrawals? I don't think there's ever been any report of withdrawal from kava. Calling your kava use a kava addiction is a stretch in any scenario, but I do not know your situation. It sounds more like you are dependent on kava as an anxiety treatment rather than as an addiction. Thinking about it as objectively as possible, does kava improve your ability to be productive, happy, and maintain relationships in life? If you say yes to both, then it isn't really an addiction. You have a need to treat your anxiety and kava works for you. To call this an addiction would be like calling someone who needs blood pressure medicine an addict.

A gallon of grog can be a small amount or a large amount, it's the amount of root that goes into it that matters.

What kava are you drinking? Is it verifiably noble root? Or could it be from a kava bar or a questionable source? If it isn't noble root, switching to verified noble might be the answer

I'm sorry you are having a bad experience with your kava drinking now. I would suggest getting a liver panel done if you can afford to.

Thank you for your reply!
Hep c
I am addicted to kava, I call it an addiction because it's causing me health problems and I haven't stopped. Since I'm such an uncomfortable person (anxiety and pain) I have a very addictive personality.
I also have a very sensitive body. It makes my legs kick, I get chills, watery eyes and a headache. I know, I can't find much about this happening to others but this is what happens (and currently happening).

The gallon has a cup and a half strained root.

The stuff I make at home is noble and I'm pretty sure the kava bars I go to use noble (one of the owners my friend helped bring the first kava bar to North America) so they know their kava.

Sadly I can't afford a liver panel at the moment. $500 last panel.

 

[Red_B]

Addiction has a murky definition, but I wouldn't downplay psychological addiction which can occur with almost anything pleasurable including things like fast food. If you continue doing something in spite of negative health consequences, it could qualify as an addiction.

I think a doctor's visit is the right call

Working with a Dr on this. Right now I'm taking a bunch of supplements to get it sorted.

 

[TheKavaSociety]

The stuff I make at home is noble and I'm pretty sure the kava bars I go to use noble (one of the owners my friend helped bring the first kava bar to North America) so they know their kava.

Sadly I can't afford a liver panel at the moment. $500 last panel.

This, sadly, doesn't mean much when it comes to kava being noble or tudei...

Also, $500 for a liver panel? Wtf? It costs $40 here.

 

[Noname]

Take organic milk thistle powder good stuff..

 

[dr phalloid]

yes as above I recommend a milk thistle supplement,i personally take a very strong extract.this contains high levels of silymarin.i have seen first hand what this stuff can do,many years ago my coal man who was a amateur mycologist came to me saying he had eaten a mushroom called a wood blewit the day before.alarm bells went off in my head as it was too early in the season for this mushroom to be out,i quickly identified the culprit to be a poisonous look alike that attacked the liver etc.i gave him some strong extracted milk thistle tablets as his eyes had turned yellow+rushed him to hospital.the doctors could do nothing for him as the poision from the fungi had entered his organs,thakfully he used the milk thistle+his liver returned to normal and his eyes were white again within a week.so I recommend milk thistle for any type of liver problems and as a protective measure.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

@Red_B If your liver is compromised with Hep C, just about every kava-substitute would be likely to cause equivalent or more damage to your liver. People who drink noble kava roots, have average genetics and healthy organs don't experience any significant liver damage, even with strong daily usage.

Are you treating the hep ? There was a member that used to post here who's wife had Hep C and possibly cured it well enough to get the doctor's okay for kava drinking. If I recall correctly, she may have also had blood work done with good results while drinking kava. @Roaddog

Since kava isn't 'physically addictive' there's no need to taper off of it, other than if you feel it will be more comfortable for you psychologically. You won't experience any typical withdrawal symptoms from stopping cold-turkey though.

The "spleen pain" could be many things, kava can cause excess bloating, gas and indigestion, these things often lead to people self-diagnosing more serious issues -- but to know for sure, you should definitely go to a Doc and give them the full honest truth about your health and drug use. Past and present.

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