Welcome, last week we looked at PTSD & Anixety. This week we are looking into another two of the biggest reasons kratom has become such an important part of so many lives. Depression & Pain seem to me to go hand in hand. They are two types of pain. One is the physical side and the other is the emotional. Kratom has reduced these two affictions in many of my friends (both online and locally) and I hear the same story over and over again. People getting their lives back together and returning to a more normal life once again.
Let’s start with a instance that I have been witnessing recently. I met a beautiful lady that I was of course drawn too. We started talking and I found out that she was suffering from fibromyalgia and had almost been killed in a car accident 15 years before. Her spine had been crushed in several places. Her neck injury came 1mm from paralysing her. She has two kids that run circles around her because sometimes she is bed ridden. I told her , “Mark this day. This is the day your life turns around.” I gave her some of my Red MD kratom. 40 minutes later, she was looking at me in shock at the sheer amazement she felt. She walked around the room without the slight limp that she had struggeled to hide, repeatedly flexed her hands and rolled her shoulders. She said to me, ” It is like 20 years have slid off of my body”. Since then she has barely touched the opiate pain killers that had plagued her as much as the pain of her injuries. This was a month ago and now she is looking to go back to work again. I have heard at least 50+ stories like this and personally witnessed 8 in person.
So, how does kratom help relieve pain? How does this happen? Kratom is a partial opioid antagonist that relieves pain without the crippling level of physical addiction that opiates inflict upon people. Kratom is not an actual opiate. That is the beauty of it. Also, it doesn’t inebriate me or put me in an opioid fog. While it is providing relief , I find that my mind is sharper and more alert than normal. I joke to people that I could take a calculus test. Being a partial opioid antagonist , it binds to the μ-subtype opioid receptor (MOR). That is the same receptor that morphine binds to !! At the same time, kratom binds to the kappa-opioid receptors that help with a calming effect as well as pain.
It is unbelievable that this type of relief can happen without the debilitating effects that opiates have. I would tell someone that they were lying if I had not experienced it for myself. I can totally see why legislators that don’t understand these effects are easily led to believe by the corrupt drug industry that kratom is a dangerous drug when that is as far from the truth as it gets.
Now for depression. I personally turned to kratom because of depression and anxiety. Before I discovered kratom , I was putting myself in danger by self medicating with drugs in a desparate attempt to stop the emotional pain I was in. I literally had a pain in my chest that had manifested as a physical pain that I believe was hurting my health and stealing the joy from my life. When kratom entered my life, the downward spiral has reversed and I enjoy life again for the first time since I was a child.
There are many alkaloids in kratom. So, understand that there are likely many of these alkaloids working together to produce the benefits of relieving depression. The main alkaloid that is attributed to the positive changes in mood and well being is called 7-hydroxymitragynine. This alkaloid is the primary psychoactive in Kratom. Strangely enough, even though there are supposed to be psychoactive properties to this alkaloid, there are none of the effects that are normally associated with psychoative substances. From what I have read, scientists have yet to know why but …. there it is. Noone is tripping out from kratom. It merely gives a sense of well being and contentment. Thusly , greatly reduced depression.
What type of kratom does one use for pain? Now, there are many colors and regions that kratom comes from. Each of these numerous strains have differing levels of the alkaloids that produce their effects. It is the generally agreed upon opinion that Red kratom is best for pain. Mind you, all of the varied strains help with pain to one degree or another but red kratom stands out as the best usually.
With depression, there are many colors that help. In my humble opinion , white kratom & yellow kratom are the best for my depression. There are as many different opinions on which colors and strains are best as there are people who benefit from kratom. Each to his own. I would recommend trying to mix white kratom with other colors to get a more well rounded effect. Just start out a little at a time and experiment to make a personal recipe that suits you best.
There is so much to learn about kratom still. Many groups of scientists at Universities and other places are studying the amazing potential of this plant and its constitutent alkaloids. I will write out another newsletter next Friday to explore another piece of the huge puzzle that is the miraculous plant we call Kratom.