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Multi day hangover from noble Kava?

jemo

Kava Curious
Hey, two days ago I prepared about 30g of kava with the blender method. My friend had the first shell, I added new water to the Maka and did a shell for myself. For the 3rd go I used double the amount of water and split the brew into two shells - one for me and one for my friend.
We were both feeling mellow and relaxed, nothing strong really.
The next morning I woke up with a terrible hangover, brain fog, nausea which didn't go away until going to bed. Today I still feel very much hungover: headache, sluggish, brain fog, tired (I slept a lot). My friend is fine, he said he might have been a tad more tired yesterday but that's it. I have been hydrating myself a lot. I remember being hungover from this particular kava about 2 weeks ago as well. I have taken it 4 times, twice with hangovers...
The kava is from a reputable vendor (not KWK) and sold as noble. Anyway, I tested it with the acetone test (though 5g=10ml kava with 30 ml acetone) and it seems alright.
Anybody with ideas or similar experiences? Kinda getting worried.
[Acetonic test]
 
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The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
It sounds like this kava is simply not for your body type. I have some that do that to me too. Completely noble. Sometimes they just don't jive with us.

The fact that your friend was fine, and you weren't lends to my thought process here.

Edit: the acetonic test there looks good to me, but I have to admit I'm a bit red/green colorblind.
 

jemo

Kava Curious
Thanks for the reply. So having 48h hangovers from noble kava is "normal" for some people/cultivars?
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Thanks for the reply. So having 48h hangovers from noble kava is "normal" for some people/cultivars?
Not normal. a 48 hour hangover is quite odd for anyone, but the fact that your friend didn't share the same symptoms makes me think you've got something going on with your system. What we see is that if there's a problem with the kava, it will generally affect everyone that consumed it the same, or in very similar ways. To feel a little tired the next day is 100% normal. To feel sick for 2 solid days is absolutely not. Did you consume any other substances that day like alcohol?
 

Kojo Douglas

The Kavasseur
Would agree that the issue is probably with your own chemistry. I do know that feeling, but in the unusual situations where I get it it's just for a few hours the next morning. Some people have a longer Kava hangover, but most people don't get a hangover at all (in fact, that's one of the main selling points of Kava).

How many other Kavas have you tried? Did you get this result with them?
 

jemo

Kava Curious
Not normal. a 48 hour hangover is quite odd for anyone, but the fact that your friend didn't share the same symptoms makes me think you've got something going on with your system. What we see is that if there's a problem with the kava, it will generally affect everyone that consumed it the same, or in very similar ways. To feel a little tired the next day is 100% normal. To feel sick for 2 solid days is absolutely not. Did you consume any other substances that day like alcohol?
Yes, its very odd. I'm a healthy early 20s guy, so no idea whats going on there. I do rather often experience very strong hangovers from alcohol though, and I'm talking a couple of beers, nothing crazy. That's actually the main reason I've been looking for alternatives. We didn't drink anything else besides kava, followed by a meal (bbq)...

Would agree that the issue is probably with your own chemistry. I do know that feeling, but in the unusual situations where I get it it's just for a few hours the next morning. Some people have a longer Kava hangover, but most people don't get a hangover at all (in fact, that's one of the main selling points of Kava).

How many other Kavas have you tried? Did you get this result with them?
I've tried KWK Pouni Ono and KWK Borongoru with no ill effects. I remember having quite a few shells of this ill-making kava + some pouni ono (micronized) with another friend another time and I had no hangover whatsoever, I in fact slept very well and woke up extremely well rested.
 

Mo'iety

Kava Enthusiast
I've tried KWK Pouni Ono and KWK Borongoru with no ill effects.
It's likely just your body not agreeing with that cultivar as others have said. The acetone test looks good. But I find it interesting that you get no ill effects from KWK Borongoru yet this kava still gave you issues. For me, any heavy-leaning noble kava gives me next-day effects (extra calm and a bit sedated through most of the morning) so I generally only drink heady, unless I'm really looking for the heavy feeling and I can have a lazy morning and afternoon the next day. I was suspecting you might be experiencing the same thing, but if Borongoru leaves you fully alert the next day then I guess it's something else.
 

jemo

Kava Curious
Thank you for reassuring me that the acetonic tests looks alright.
I have actually ordered some new KWK Borongoru to test your hypothesis. It's been a couple months since I've had Borongoru the last time, but I'm sure I would have remembered if I felt like shit afterwards.
On a side note, this ill-making kava is sold as heady/balanced, which would go against your idea there.
I will keep an eye on it. 72h later, I am good as new - lets keep it that way!
Bula
 

jemo

Kava Curious
So I've had this same kava again yesterday. Hadn't eaten for a good 6 hours, made the Kava and had some thai curry afterwards.
I first blended some frozen maka (frozen after third wash, worth probably around 6-8 tbsp), felt slight numbness in my mouth and slight relaxation. Was expected, considering that its been blended 3 times before I froze it - shouldn't be a lot of lactones left. I then added anouther 4 tbsp of new kava to the (now used 4 times) maka-slurry and made two more shells. Felt definitely relaxed and good, but still very mild.
Today I feel much less hungover than the last time, but I surely feel a bit knocked out.

I've got two more things I have to test.
1) Don't use the frozen maka. My rationale here is "It has been used a couple of times before, so maybe a lot of the good stuff has been extracted already and now I am extracting more hangover-inducing compounds." Has there been any research on this - the extract composition of reused frozen maka?

2) As said, I had ordered some KWK Loa Waka and Borongoru. Try these and see how I feel the next day.
 
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