When I first started using Kratom, I could take it or leave it no problem. I had a few sponsored logs here on AM, and that’s how I started. The first one is gone now due to that company no longer being an AM sponsor- or for whatever reason. Anyway, after my first supply was gone, I didn’t even buy more again. Then another log opportunity came up a year or so later. I didn’t use it everyday during that run, and I didn’t buy a bag when that supply was gone either. No problems noted upon stopping either time because I wasn’t consistently dosing it..
Given my ease of using Kratom sporadically in the past, I probably didn’t give it enough respect when I started taking it multiple times daily starting the first week of July this summer. Now I find myself having a very difficult time stopping the habit as I develop increased anxiety, depression, insomnia, apathy, hot flashes etc. Meanwhile, the effects of Kratom are greatly diminished and just keep me at somewhat of a baseline...which really isn’t that great. I have been weaning for approximately a month and have made some progress overall, but I’m not out of the woods yet.
While there are certainly worse things to withdraw from, Kratom should be treated with some respect and I definitely learned that daily dosing for weeks/months was not in my best interest. It’s not like I decided to do it either, I just woke up one day and realized how I had become dependent on it.
Ultimately, I think the best advice is that if you don’t “need” it, don’t open yourself up to the possibility of it becoming a problem that sneaks up on you. While it’s definitely possible to use it sparingly and “as needed,” it’s also very possible for things to go the other way.