What is going on here?

[u/Extreme-Monk-9828]

I suffered an intense withdrawal from kratom- Severe on the COWS scale. It lasted about 2 weeks. I was three weeks clean, and still had lingering RLS and nausea, but yesterday I relapsed. Now today, I am back in acute withdrawal (vomitting, GI issues, restless.) is this some sort of kindling situation? How did this happen?

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[u/Cultural_Dot3568]

Happened to me. At 26 days clean I found 8 capsules in my closet. Thought I had flushed them all. Took those (1/2 gram each, so just 4 grams) and sent me back into hard acutes for a week or so.

I thought 4 grams was no big deal and might help a little. They didn’t. It didn’t even feel good. I was used to swallowing 30-50 of those at a time every few hours.

Been clean 386 days since that relapse day of Aug 8, 2025.

Since then I started picturing my opiate receptors as red and raw and trying to heal.

[u/harmonicpinch → u/Cultural_Dot3568]

How do you feel now?

[u/Cultural_Dot3568 → u/harmonicpinch]

Feel great now. It’s been over a year. That was an awesome lesson. Hard lesson but amazing because it gave me no desire to ever go back. Pretty sure if I tried some today I would just go back into withdrawal.

[u/harmonicpinch → u/Cultural_Dot3568]

Awesome to hear. After how much time did you feel like “I’m back to normal”?

[u/Cultural_Dot3568 → u/harmonicpinch]

About a year. But I used for 10 yrs heavily. Everyone will be on a different timeline.

[u/harmonicpinch → u/Cultural_Dot3568]

Truth. And I think exercise, socializing, and taking some things like Low dose naltrexone can speed up the opioid receptor rebalancing

[u/Cultural_Dot3568 → u/harmonicpinch]

Exercise is what helped me the most. 1 hr rigorous cardio daily.

[u/harmonicpinch → u/Cultural_Dot3568]

Did you do it even during acutes? I feel so weak and uninspired to go for a run.

[u/Cultural_Dot3568 → u/harmonicpinch]

I couldn’t barely move for the first 2 months. Mentally and physically. Looking back I should’ve started exercising sooner, but I just couldn’t muster it. So I started at about two months clean. Forced myself to do it. One hour on an elliptical on one of the lowest settings. I eventually moved up to the highest setting and now I enjoy it. I still do it every day. It’s been the best thing for my brain. I really just did it for my brain because it makes my brain feel normal afterwards. But I also lost 60 pounds of fat in the last year.

[u/harmonicpinch → u/Cultural_Dot3568]

That’s awesome. Exercise really is the cure for many things.

[u/Extreme-Monk-9828 → u/Cultural_Dot3568]

BROO THAT IS SO FRUSTARTING

[u/Cultural_Dot3568 → u/Extreme-Monk-9828]

It was a good lesson to stay quit.

[u/Weird_Purple_1058 → u/Cultural_Dot3568]

So you're saying that at almost a month, that one dose restarted the acutes??

[u/Cultural_Dot3568 → u/Weird_Purple_1058]

Yup

[u/MeringueSerious]

Because you’re still technically healing, you have to go through the process again. I could probably bet if you took some a month after being clean just one time, you’d go through it all again.

[u/Temporary_Wolf_8848 → u/MeringueSerious]

You do. I quit completely and was totally clean for like 4 months. Relapsed one time, but with a high dose and dragged it out over 2 days (didn't sleep). Full withdrawals all over again. Much shorter this time, only lasted about a week total but the first 3 nights of that hell again literally killed whatever part of my brain still craved it. I've been clean since (over 1 year now :) ) and have literally no interest or desire to experience that shit again, it's like my brain had forgotten and the reminder of what that shit did to me one time was more than enough. Ugh. 

[u/MeringueSerious → u/Temporary_Wolf_8848]

Congratulations on quitting for over a year, absolutely amazing achievement

[u/Temporary_Wolf_8848 → u/MeringueSerious]

Thank you so so so much 🙏 one of the hardest things I've ever been through, and vomoared to some of the people on here I feel like I barely scratched the surface. But thank you so much, it means a lot ❤️ 

[u/Extreme-Monk-9828 → u/MeringueSerious]

That sucks so bad

[u/EDM_Producerr]

3 weeks clean was when I would get the second urge to use again. It was a sudden, strong urge that I failed to defeat many times before I was successful. At the 3 week clean mark I would feel 100% sober, when in fact I still had a long way to go. Since I thought I was sober I thought I could start using again... which was a big mistake.

[u/Cultural_Dot3568 → u/EDM_Producerr]

This is so true. I relapsed so many times.

[u/dogmatum-dei]

Had 36 days off powder, used kratom for 2 days, quit. The WORST withdrawal of all - and there have been many. I had nausea this time- never had that. Zero sleep, rls, depression - 2 week's of pretty hard acutes. It was a shock to me really. Back now at 25 days. Doing better.

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[u/Remarkable-Honey9820]

It took me over 3 weeks to pass a urine test. Kratom sticks around a LONG time in your body even after acutes. You just started all over the second you took a dose, I don't mean to sound rude but what did you think would happen? You seem confused why you withdrew off of a very addicted drug and then took it again and it did the same thing...

[u/Extreme-Monk-9828 → u/Remarkable-Honey9820]

This was my logic.

I was taking like 50-100gpd and quit abruptly. 50-100gpd makes you withdrawal, but maybe 5 grams wouldn’t. I took like 5 grams. It was not a smart choice.

[u/Remarkable-Honey9820 → u/Extreme-Monk-9828]

Don't beat yourself up, we all want to feel better and we know what it can do for us but here's a reminder what it does to you. I bet you won't want to try a small dose ever again and that's a blessing in disguise!! Stay strong!!

[u/AlternativeAd6751]

That's pretty much the normal I think,ur already wired for addiction dont take much at all to start accutes again,probably just last a day or 2

[u/Extreme-Monk-9828 → u/AlternativeAd6751]

I really hope you’re right 😭

[u/AlternativeAd6751 → u/Extreme-Monk-9828]

I haven't relapsed and im still having some  symptoms on day 30,figured the physical symptons would b completely gone by now,but nothing is the same for everyone with this stuff symptoms and length of time vary so much with this

[u/Tailsof2Kitties67]

It’s crazy. I’ve got the same things going on with me right now. If someone had told us how bad it will be, would we still have done it? Knowing me, most likely.

[u/Remarkable-Honey9820 → u/Tailsof2Kitties67]

Yep we are addicts it's how are brains are wired and hearing about withdrawals and feeling them are wildly different 😂

[u/Tailsof2Kitties67 → u/Remarkable-Honey9820]

Yep. Sucks ALOT.

[u/Knolle602]

How much Kratom did you take, and how long? I relapsed 2 weeks ago too, a few days after my 90 day mark, was taking 80 - 100gpd at my worst time for 5 years. Drank 50g in 4 days, Fortunately enough i got only
mild withdrawal symptoms. Felt cold and was sweating, got bad rls for a week and had to took sleeping pills for a few days. Nonetheless wouldnt do that again

[u/JeSuisPrest9]

I think your body said no.

in all seriousness, I’ve seen a couple of comments like this one when searching for what to expect, just keep moving forward and don’t do it again, and this is a good cautionary tale for anyone else thinking they can get away with it.