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Kava Effects short lived, and "Hangover"

K

kl.legbuh

Kava Curious
Hi, All. First time posting here. 

Started with pills from Kava Farms, they did nothing.  So I ordered Vanuatu Instant Green Kava and 1 Kilo Borogu Kava Root from Bula Kava house after many good reviews of both products.

I started with the instant and did the 2 tsp that it recommended.  Got some effects from it, but they seem short lived (maybe 30 mins).  So the next time I tried the root and made some (1 cup root, 2 cups water) and that yielded about 8oz of liquid.  Same thing... short lived, but was nice and relaxing.

Each time this was done about an hour after supper.  I make it and chug it down (and am actually starting to enjoy the taste... I've always liked bitter drinks)

So another night I did 1TBS of instant in a cup (12oz water).... then about 45 mins later did it again.  Nice relaxation, slight "buzz", but each one seem short lived.  And the next morning I felt "hung over" and dehydrated.

I do sip water almost all day, and even drinking beer or scotch all night I've never felt that dehydrated.  Am I doing something wrong?  :)  I'm afraid to drink more than I have simply because I didn't like the hangover the next morning.  :)
 
Dan

Dan

Kava Enthusiast
Hi legbuh.

I agree that you should be getting more of a (positive) experience than what you describe: 1 cup of kava is a lot, and would probably flatten me if prepared the way I usually do it...

Others with kava experience might have some better advice, but try drinking it on an empty stomach sometime (like, three hours or so since last meal) - an hour after a meal might be too soon.  This is my number one "trick" for new drinkers: an empty stomach really can make all the difference.

The only other tip would be to strain the brew as best possible.  Many, including me, seem to experience some indigestion from the root fiber.  I tend to feel much better and less hungover the next day when the previous night's brew is well-strained.

Hope this helps.
 
K

kl.legbuh

Kava Curious
Thanks, Dan.



I do strain it when making it with the root. I use cheesecloth (going to try a sock next time, should be easier... lol) and then I do a final strain through a metal mesh sieve.



I do not strain the instant kava, though, and that's what seems to give me more of a hangover. Although I've never done more than one glass of the root prepared kava (that's quite a process for a drink and after one I usually call it a night).



I don't seem to get indigestion either (from either type). Just a "full" stomach from chugging the liquid all at once. The hangover is more of a headache, dehydration, and feeling of your head is in the clouds. I've even experienced the headache a couple hours after consuming the kava when the effects are gone.



Not really like valium for me either. I've only taken V once (for a vasectomy) and it was the most wonderful feeling I've ever felt in my entire life. :) I was hoping for something close with Kava. I'll keep experimenting.
 
kavalover

kavalover

Outsider
Dan has the right idea with the empty stomach. At least 3 hours after eating is how I roll.



As for the hangover, I'll get hangovers from certain types of kava. Every time I prepare kona kava's mahakea with the 1 cup kava/4 cups water ratio I get a very alcohol-resembling kind of hangover. Dehydration, nausea, pretty much what you described. I also get this when I drink large amounts of kava on a full stomach, as I did last night and didn't feel so well this morning.



My only advice really would be to experiment, try to strain your kava as much as you can, maybe not use so much as you're still pretty new. You've probably heard it before around here that you have to 'pay your dues' and let the reverse tolerance work on you, and until then maybe so much isn't a good idea.



Best of luck, keep us updated ;)
 
Vekta

Vekta

Notorious Lightweight
Review Maestro
Weird, I can drink Isa or a gentle Hawaiian and I never get any kind of hangover. What's been said before is right though. Try different kava's until you find the right one for you. I tend to use ones that are more heavy handed. I don't know why.
 
K

kl.Gray Owl

Kava Enthusiast
First tip, on a full stomach is the worst time to get a kava buzz, you're just not going to absorb enough kavalactones. I fast after lunch, maybe a soda, but no snacks, then when I get home from work that is when I have my "session" before eating dinner. I prepare my kava the night before and put it in the fridge so it's ready to go when I get home from work the next day. Where kava is drunk natively, I get the impression this is like going to the bar on your way home from work and having a few drinks while dinner is prepared. People have it before the evening meal, unless it's being used in a ceremonial context. If nothing else, I am losing a little weight by resisting that afternoon snack. All you should get in the way of a hangover is that you will wake up the next morning and still feel crunked, which is a bit weird, it doesn't metabolize out of your system the same way as alcohol for example, some are very short, others are exceptionally long eg. a tuday.



Dehydration: kava is a mild diuretic, and is probably not "potassium sparing" so your electrolytes are probably messed up. When your potassium is low, your body lets out water to increase the concentration of the potassium, hence you become dehydrated. The ultimate liquid to restore your electrolytes is coconut water, it contains all the potassium you need but a lot less sodium than sports drinks and it is isotonic i.e. same pH and ionic strength as blood in fact it can be used as a plasma substitute. I get juice boxes of O.N.E. via Amazon, not the cheapest, but the most like the real deal from a fresh coconut, it has sort of a grassy flavor to it. I use one box per batch of kava and make the rest up with water.



Being fairly new to this myself, to get crunked on BKH green I need 6 tsp of green to 3 cups of water and to have drunk about 4-5 shells of that to really feel it. I'm counting a shell as about 1/2 cup or roughly 5-6 gulps in my case. I can drink the first 2 at once, then wait at least 10-15 mins before drinking the next. The goal is to gently build up the level of kavalactones without the concentration spiking too much while giving your body time to adjust and avoid irritating your stomach. If I drink 3 shells at once, I feel bloated and queasy, I suspect that if I drank 4 I would get nauseous and break out in a cold sweat. The higher the DHM content and the more peppery the taste, the less that I can drink at once. It takes about 45 minutes to get through 6 shells. And of course if 4-5 does the job, put the rest in the fridge and save it for tomorrow.



Anything from Kona Kava farm forget it. In fits of paranoia, I imagine they are a shell company set up by the government to spread the myth that kava does nothing to discourage its use, but that's just crazy talk. The Kona Kava instant is the one thing from them that I did get some effect from, but it took a lot more because it has sugar and other crap in it, it took like 12-14 tsp in 2 cups of water.



The buzz to me seems most like a higher dose of cyclobenzaprin, which I have taken for muscle spasms mostly in my neck (torticollis). It's a detached sort of feeling, but the difference with kava is that it is more sociable, it softens my social anxiety and makes me want to be around other people rather than in solitude.



Lastly, reverse tolerance, it takes a bit to build up your sensitivity. The first week I drank kava every day and didn't get much effects other than from a batch of N@H Stone.
 
K

kl.legbuh

Kava Curious
Used the root tonight to make a new batch, but a different method.



The bag says to mix 1 cup root to 2 cups water, let soak, blend, strain, soak again, strain then drink. That method seemed to be cumbersome.



I grabbed a sock, put a cup of root it, tied it off and stuck it in a bowl of about 4 cups water and massaged it for a few minutes. Strained it into a container, then added more water to the bowl and massaged some more. Water got nice and dark again... Like pea soup.



Tasted it and it's at least as strong as the instant or root made with the other method. I can tell by the smell and numbing effect in my mouth. Gonna try it in a couple hours. :)
 
K

kl.legbuh

Kava Curious
Well, report.



I extracted about 6 cups from one cup of ground root using a sock and bowl.



I drank 2 cups at 8pm. By 8:10 I had the nicest buzz to date. By 8:40 the buzz was mostly gone. Bummer. But at least I have a better way of extraction that yields more drink per cup of kava.
 
K

kl.midas

Kava Enthusiast
legbuh said:
Used the root tonight to make a new batch, but a different method.



The bag says to mix 1 cup root to 2 cups water, let soak, blend, strain, soak again, strain then drink. That method seemed to be cumbersome.



I grabbed a sock, put a cup of root it, tied it off and stuck it in a bowl of about 4 cups water and massaged it for a few minutes. Strained it into a container, then added more water to the bowl and massaged some more. Water got nice and dark again... Like pea soup.



Tasted it and it's at least as strong as the instant or root made with the other method. I can tell by the smell and numbing effect in my mouth. Gonna try it in a couple hours. :)
Click to expand...
I've been using a similar prep method. I soak the root for an hour or
so, then pour the mixture into my strainer bag. I let the liquid seep
through the bag into a bowl, then tie it at the top and submerge it in
the bowl and massage the crap out of it for 10 minutes or so.
 
K

kl.Gray Owl

Kava Enthusiast
A sock is actually pretty fine mesh and soaking like a teabag like that is probably not going to get the most kavalactones out of it.
 
Crunked

Crunked

Proselytizer
I am new to drinking Kava. I ordered vanuatu kava recently and while I was waiting for the shipment I was taking 8 to 12 tablets nightly (in 2 doses 30 minutes apart). The tablets were Thompson's 2400 mg. I would certainly get a relaxed feeling, but that was as far as it went.
Well last night I got my dried kava. I made up a batch with 50g kava first kneaded into 500 ml water and then I put the bag into another bowl of 250 ml water to make sure I extracted as much as possible. Then added the 2 bowls together to give me 750 ml or 6 shells. I drank them before dinner, each shell 10 minutes apart.
The effect was similar to alcohol, but also different and I liked it. But I have to say I felt I overdid it. I would not have wanted to drive. This morning I felt badly hung over.  (smiley: sick)
So as a newbie, next time I am going to reduce the dose to 25 mg.  (smiley: ohwell)
 
K

kl.FS315

Kava Curious
The narcotic/booze like stupor which besides being a hinderance to normal daytime functioning is not why I use kava. I realize this is how kava is normally consumed in native situations which is done at the end of the day w/ full night's sleep quickly following but is not only counterproductive but good strategy to quickly build one's tolerance..in effect wasteful. This is why I like the hated capsule form but I use them in a sublingual route of administration. Its an excellent way to greatly extend the great sedative effect of kava while not being wasteful nor does is hasten a tolerance buidup.

In short, if your goal is to get a good "buzz" then mix up 3-5 shells worth & slam them on an empty stomach. If your goal is to acquire and maintain a safe, sensible level of sedation for anxiety, enhance concentration & relaxation then I suggest going w/ sublingually ingesting (2) caps of kava from a reputeable source or do what I plan on doing & making my own caps w/ some generic gelatin empty capsules and filling them w/ some decent kava.

Kava can be used for numerous reasons w/ numerous routes of administration. Drunk, sublingual, transdermal, even suppository form will work.

^ Soley my opinion which is completely open to constructive criticism by more knowledgable persons.
 
kavalover

kavalover

Outsider
LMAO! (smiley: laugh)

Kava... turkey baster.. seems unplesant, I shall walk in the opposite direction of this conversation

(smiley: roll)
 
K

kl.FS315

Kava Curious
Is "frolic" a proctologist? Or a urologst at the least?



Kava in the basement could probably singehandedly decrease prostate cancer by 50%.
 
K

kl.Gray Owl

Kava Enthusiast
Crunked said:
I am new to drinking Kava. I ordered vanuatu kava recently and while I was waiting for the shipment I was taking 8 to 12 tablets nightly (in 2 doses 30 minutes apart). The tablets were Thompson's 2400 mg. I would certainly get a relaxed feeling, but that was as far as it went.
Well last night I got my dried kava. I made up a batch with 50g kava first kneaded into 500 ml water and then I put the bag into another bowl of 250 ml water to make sure I extracted as much as possible. Then added the 2 bowls together to give me 750 ml or 6 shells. I drank them before dinner, each shell 10 minutes apart.
The effect was similar to alcohol, but also different and I liked it. But I have to say I felt I overdid it. I would not have wanted to drive. This morning I felt badly hung over.  (smiley: sick)
So as a newbie, next time I am going to reduce the dose to 25 mg.  (smiley: ohwell)
Click to expand...
If you feel an alcohol-like hangover, it could be dehydration or electrolyte imbalance due to the diuretic effects of kava.  You might try using coconut water or drinking some orange juice to boost your potassium.
 
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