Paco Dennis
SF VIP
- Location
- Mid-Missouri
My doctor will only prescribe 12 50mg Tramadol pills a month for my pain. I am aware of many others here on the forum who have chronic pain. Kratom was used by over 2 million people last year in the U.S., and probably only 20%of them have told their doctor. Why, if it is a plant that is native in Southeast Asia and has been used for hundreds of years?
I started using Kratom about 3 months ago. It is helping me with pain and fatigue. There are 33 thousand people subscribed to r/KratomKorner ( Reddit ). It is being used daily by many people, for years. Here are snippets of a news story about it's increasing popularity and the controversy of it's safety.
May 4, 2023, 10:40 AM CDT
By Kaitlin Sullivan
Last week, U.S. marshals seized an estimated $3 million worth of kratom that was being sold as a supplement by an Oklahoma-based company.
It’s not the first time that authorities have seized kratom, which is considered a “drug of concern” by the Food and Drug Administration. The incident, however, highlights the ongoing demand for the drug, even as the FDA continues to warn about its potential dangers.
Kratom is a plant that grows naturally in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and has a long history of use in Southeast Asia. In the U.S. it’s not approved for any purpose, but millions of Americans take it for myriad reasons, saying it boosts energy, treats pain and anxiety, provides a high and even relieves symptoms of withdrawal from opioids.
The FDA, however, maintains that the drug is unsafe.
“There are no FDA-approved uses for kratom, nor have there ever been, and the agency has received concerning reports about the safety of kratom,” Lauren-Jei McCarthy, an FDA press officer, told NBC News in an emailed statement.
In 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration moved to classify kratom as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it has no medical uses and has a high potential for abuse, but reversed course after public outcry. Kratom is still unregulated at the federal level, but five states have bans on the substance, according to the American Kratom Association, a group that advocates for kratom access in the U.S.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse says on its website that adverse side effects from kratom are rare but serious, and include psychiatric, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and respiratory problems. They note that a very small number of deaths have been linked to kratom and nearly all deaths involved other drugs or contaminants — which Kaye said is one of the major concerns with kratom in the U.S.
Supplements and unregulated drugs do not have set standards or government-issued monitoring of their safety, and concerns over kratom’s purity and toxicity in the U.S. triggered the 2022 FDA alert. Four years earlier, the FDA had issued a mandatory recall of kratom products after a salmonella outbreak was linked to kratom sold by Triangle Pharmanaturals, LLC.
“If it is ever studied to a point that the FDA puts its thumb of approval on it, it will be in a purified form and there will be data that shows its safety,” Kaye said.
For now, the FDA continues to tell people not to take kratom.
“The agency stands ready to evaluate data that could demonstrate evidence-based medicinal purpose for kratom,” McCarthy said. “However, to date, we are not aware of any evidence that would meet the agency’s standard for approval of kratom as a drug.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heal...a-continues-warn-dangers-supplement-rcna82771
I left out the FDA's WARNINGS about Kratom use. The more I learn, and experiment with using it, the FDA's objection to it's use is a lot like the history of Marijuana. We all know how that has changed. Right now the medical establishment is in a pain relief crisis ever since it got caught over prescribing opioids. I am using it daily with no ill effects and it is a life saver. Here is testimony about this:
Fibromyalgia stole my life more than 28 years ago. I have severe chronic pain and fatigue that limits my activities of daily living. Unless you have experienced unrelenting severe pain 24 hours a day, you cannot know the horror of it.
I have been prescribed more pharmaceuticals than I can remember and suffered damaging side effects from them. I've participated in psychotherapy, aqua therapy, multiple pain management programs, acupuncture and hypnosis. None of these modalities brought me relief and for quite some time I was bedridden and dependent on family for care.
My doctors have prescribed me morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone, tramadol and other medications to control the pain. None of them worked for very long and I could see these prescriptions were going to lead to addiction. Often, I weaned myself off them and suffered through terrible withdrawal because the small amount of relief they gave was not worth the risk of addiction or overdose death. Bottom line is these narcotics were not effective in treating my chronic pain.
There were times when I thought about taking my life because I just couldn't get a break from the pain and didn't think I could take it any longer.
Then a friend introduced me to kratom. She had been consuming it for more than 10 years without side effects or becoming addicted to it. I started my own journey consuming kratom.
Kratom is not a drug. It is a dietary supplement. It does not heal any disease, but it has certainly improved my quality of life. I am having pain free days and my energy level is greatly improved. Kratom has restored my ability to have a normal life and I can enjoy all sorts of activities that make my life rich and full.
Kratom does not make me high, nor do I experience side effects. I am now clear minded without the sedation caused by narcotics. And I am devastated that the FDA is working to ban the only thing that has helped me in the past 28 years.
MARY ANN DUNKEL
I am sick to death of reporters parroting the lies from the FDA and CDC. I implore you. The studies they have done are full of inaccuracies and half-truths. Independent studies of the autopsies in the so called kratom deaths have shown the victims had multiple medications in their systems. They also included a death caused by gunshot.
Eight leading scientists have studied kratom and found it to be safe. It has been used for hundreds of years without problem. It is not an opioid; it is related to the coffee plant. It does attach to the same receptors in the brain as opioids, but so do many other substances such as chocolate and milk.
I would suggest to you that the FDA wants it banned because it is cutting into Big Pharma's financial bottom line. People are finding the help they need without costly and deadly pharmaceuticals. I fear that if kratom is banned this country will see an epidemic of self-inflicted deaths by people who have no hope. Kratom would become a black market substance due to overreach by the government to protect the monies they get from pharmaceutical lobbies.
Please investigate these facts and do the right thing. Do a story on the positives of kratom.
https://www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2019/5/24/fibromyalgia-stole-my-life-kratom-gave-it-back
Kratom might be something you want to try. In my town ( Columbia, Mo. ) there is a Kratom store https://www.mindrightwellness.com/. There is also a forum with over 6 thousand people discussing Kratom use. Dosage, different kinds, effectiveness, contraindications, production, vendors, legalities, and much more. https://www.doublemherbals.com/
I started using Kratom about 3 months ago. It is helping me with pain and fatigue. There are 33 thousand people subscribed to r/KratomKorner ( Reddit ). It is being used daily by many people, for years. Here are snippets of a news story about it's increasing popularity and the controversy of it's safety.
May 4, 2023, 10:40 AM CDT
By Kaitlin Sullivan
Last week, U.S. marshals seized an estimated $3 million worth of kratom that was being sold as a supplement by an Oklahoma-based company.
It’s not the first time that authorities have seized kratom, which is considered a “drug of concern” by the Food and Drug Administration. The incident, however, highlights the ongoing demand for the drug, even as the FDA continues to warn about its potential dangers.
Kratom is a plant that grows naturally in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and has a long history of use in Southeast Asia. In the U.S. it’s not approved for any purpose, but millions of Americans take it for myriad reasons, saying it boosts energy, treats pain and anxiety, provides a high and even relieves symptoms of withdrawal from opioids.
The FDA, however, maintains that the drug is unsafe.
“There are no FDA-approved uses for kratom, nor have there ever been, and the agency has received concerning reports about the safety of kratom,” Lauren-Jei McCarthy, an FDA press officer, told NBC News in an emailed statement.
In 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration moved to classify kratom as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it has no medical uses and has a high potential for abuse, but reversed course after public outcry. Kratom is still unregulated at the federal level, but five states have bans on the substance, according to the American Kratom Association, a group that advocates for kratom access in the U.S.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse says on its website that adverse side effects from kratom are rare but serious, and include psychiatric, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and respiratory problems. They note that a very small number of deaths have been linked to kratom and nearly all deaths involved other drugs or contaminants — which Kaye said is one of the major concerns with kratom in the U.S.
Supplements and unregulated drugs do not have set standards or government-issued monitoring of their safety, and concerns over kratom’s purity and toxicity in the U.S. triggered the 2022 FDA alert. Four years earlier, the FDA had issued a mandatory recall of kratom products after a salmonella outbreak was linked to kratom sold by Triangle Pharmanaturals, LLC.
“If it is ever studied to a point that the FDA puts its thumb of approval on it, it will be in a purified form and there will be data that shows its safety,” Kaye said.
For now, the FDA continues to tell people not to take kratom.
“The agency stands ready to evaluate data that could demonstrate evidence-based medicinal purpose for kratom,” McCarthy said. “However, to date, we are not aware of any evidence that would meet the agency’s standard for approval of kratom as a drug.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heal...a-continues-warn-dangers-supplement-rcna82771
I left out the FDA's WARNINGS about Kratom use. The more I learn, and experiment with using it, the FDA's objection to it's use is a lot like the history of Marijuana. We all know how that has changed. Right now the medical establishment is in a pain relief crisis ever since it got caught over prescribing opioids. I am using it daily with no ill effects and it is a life saver. Here is testimony about this:
Fibromyalgia stole my life more than 28 years ago. I have severe chronic pain and fatigue that limits my activities of daily living. Unless you have experienced unrelenting severe pain 24 hours a day, you cannot know the horror of it.
I have been prescribed more pharmaceuticals than I can remember and suffered damaging side effects from them. I've participated in psychotherapy, aqua therapy, multiple pain management programs, acupuncture and hypnosis. None of these modalities brought me relief and for quite some time I was bedridden and dependent on family for care.
My doctors have prescribed me morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone, tramadol and other medications to control the pain. None of them worked for very long and I could see these prescriptions were going to lead to addiction. Often, I weaned myself off them and suffered through terrible withdrawal because the small amount of relief they gave was not worth the risk of addiction or overdose death. Bottom line is these narcotics were not effective in treating my chronic pain.
There were times when I thought about taking my life because I just couldn't get a break from the pain and didn't think I could take it any longer.
Then a friend introduced me to kratom. She had been consuming it for more than 10 years without side effects or becoming addicted to it. I started my own journey consuming kratom.
Kratom is not a drug. It is a dietary supplement. It does not heal any disease, but it has certainly improved my quality of life. I am having pain free days and my energy level is greatly improved. Kratom has restored my ability to have a normal life and I can enjoy all sorts of activities that make my life rich and full.
Kratom does not make me high, nor do I experience side effects. I am now clear minded without the sedation caused by narcotics. And I am devastated that the FDA is working to ban the only thing that has helped me in the past 28 years.
MARY ANN DUNKEL
I am sick to death of reporters parroting the lies from the FDA and CDC. I implore you. The studies they have done are full of inaccuracies and half-truths. Independent studies of the autopsies in the so called kratom deaths have shown the victims had multiple medications in their systems. They also included a death caused by gunshot.
Eight leading scientists have studied kratom and found it to be safe. It has been used for hundreds of years without problem. It is not an opioid; it is related to the coffee plant. It does attach to the same receptors in the brain as opioids, but so do many other substances such as chocolate and milk.
I would suggest to you that the FDA wants it banned because it is cutting into Big Pharma's financial bottom line. People are finding the help they need without costly and deadly pharmaceuticals. I fear that if kratom is banned this country will see an epidemic of self-inflicted deaths by people who have no hope. Kratom would become a black market substance due to overreach by the government to protect the monies they get from pharmaceutical lobbies.
Please investigate these facts and do the right thing. Do a story on the positives of kratom.
https://www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2019/5/24/fibromyalgia-stole-my-life-kratom-gave-it-back
Kratom might be something you want to try. In my town ( Columbia, Mo. ) there is a Kratom store https://www.mindrightwellness.com/. There is also a forum with over 6 thousand people discussing Kratom use. Dosage, different kinds, effectiveness, contraindications, production, vendors, legalities, and much more. https://www.doublemherbals.com/
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