Troubleshooting depression result

[Chakram]

Going through some trial and error. I find that the amount that originally felt good is now resulting in lethargy and very real depression (like can’t stop crying for hours every time Kava wears off).

I’m not sure if it’s because reverse tolerance kicked in and I now need much less? Or is it just that I should not use Kava so regularly? This week I made a 4 tbsp cup on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday (about half are the grinds from the last time which I assume are slightly less potent).

Or maybe it’s both? I know that nobody can tell me how my body will react, but does anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Groggy]

Going through some trial and error. I find that the amount that originally felt good is now resulting in lethargy and very real depression (like can’t stop crying for hours every time Kava wears off).

I’m not sure if it’s because reverse tolerance kicked in and I now need much less? Or is it just that I should not use Kava so regularly? This week I made a 4 tbsp cup on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday (about half are the grinds from the last time which I assume are slightly less potent).

Or maybe it’s both? I know that nobody can tell me how my body will react, but does anyone have any thoughts?

I've had similar feelings in regards to limiting myself to drinking kava a handful of days per month for similar reasons. For me and more importantly at this time in my life, that's what works. If I was drinking kava like I used to when began and the three heavy years that followed, I'd probably be balled up in a corner sobbing.

I am not entirely sure it is kava alone, times are tough, for many different reasons well beyond my control, and those things cause me stress in one way or another, I imagine that may be the case for many of us. I think my mistake is expecting to feel better by drinking more but in reality, I feel much better drinking a lot less, and less frequently.

 

[Valyn]

Have you recently been on or using any gaba medications (gabapentin, phenibut, benzos, lyrica etc.)?

It might also help if I know what specific kava you are using.

 

[Jacob Bula]

It does this to me as well. I can't take it anymore without getting severe depression/lethargy. I've tried altering my dose, the type of kava I drink, different routines, etc. Unfortunately the only thing that has helped me is to not drink kava at all. I tried drinking some again after a 6 month hiatus and feel the worst that I have felt all year. I do find it amusing though that on K@ forums people are trying to quit and on kava forums people are trying to find ways to keep drinking it. It's an amazing plant, but it's not for everyone: myself included.

 

[The Kap'n]

It does this to me as well. I can't take it anymore without getting severe depression/lethargy. I've tried altering my dose, the type of kava I drink, different routines, etc. Unfortunately the only thing that has helped me is to not drink kava at all. I tried drinking some again after a 6 month hiatus and feel the worst that I have felt all year. I do find it amusing though that on K@ forums people are trying to quit and on kava forums people are trying to find ways to keep drinking it. It's an amazing plant, but it's not for everyone: myself included.

This is the honest truth. I don't get depression from kava, but I do get lethargy which I have grown to like. Strange I know, but it's just me.

 

[MendelTheMonk]

I was reading up on some of the kavalactones in the heady kavas may work like SSRIs (will update accordingly if I’m incorrect) and thus you potentially could see seratonin swings? Possibly kava tips some folks “over the edge” if they’re close to a phase change already with brain chemicals. Pure guesswork and hypothesis.

 

[Chakram]

Have you recently been on or using any gaba medications (gabapentin, phenibut, benzos, lyrica etc.)?

It might also help if I know what specific kava you are using.

Nope. I mostly favor Nambawan made with an Alluball.

 

[The Kap'n]

I was reading up on some of the kavalactones in the heady kavas may work like SSRIs (will update accordingly if I’m incorrect) and thus you potentially could see seratonin swings? Possibly kava tips some folks “over the edge” if they’re close to a phase change already with brain chemicals. Pure guesswork and hypothesis.

"Dihydrokavain, methysticin, and dihydromethysticin did not produce any significant change in dopamine, DOPAC, or HVA levels (P>0.03). (±)-Kavain (60mg/kg ip) induced a decrease in 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels but the changes were not significant. Some of the other kavalactones also affected 5-HT levels as well, but the effects were not consistent and showed great variability between the different kavalactones (Sällström Baumet al., 1998)."

Singh, Yadhu N. 2004. Kava: From Ethnology to Pharmacology (Medicinal and Aromatic Plants - Industrial Profiles). CRC Press.


(Source from citation above)
Baum, S. S., R. Hill, and H. Rommelspacher. 1998. “Effect of Kava Extract and Individual Kavapyrones on Neurotransmitter Levels in the Nucleus Accumbens of Rats.” Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry 22 (7): 1105–20. https://sci-hub.se/http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0278-5846(98)00062-1

 

[JohnMichael]

It does this to me as well. I can't take it anymore without getting severe depression/lethargy. I've tried altering my dose, the type of kava I drink, different routines, etc. Unfortunately the only thing that has helped me is to not drink kava at all. I tried drinking some again after a 6 month hiatus and feel the worst that I have felt all year. I do find it amusing though that on K@ forums people are trying to quit and on kava forums people are trying to find ways to keep drinking it. It's an amazing plant, but it's not for everyone: myself included.

Our son-in-law doesn't respond well to kava. But he is almost 100% (genetically speaking) an Irishman. My wife and I drink kava several days a week, but not every day. And we drink in moderation in the late afternoon/early evening before supper. That's a very pleasant time of the day for us to sit outside and relax. By 10pm the kava has subsided to general preparation for bedtime. I usually ingest some valerian a half hour before bedtime on kava days and sleep very well. They seem to be complementary. With the recent hurricane, we've been drinking kava a little more, but still in moderation: 2 or 3 shells. Thanks, Jacob, for still posting here at the Forums!